Wilderness run was for vanity
I read an article in the newspaper about a man who ran a 50-mile marathon across the Bob Marshall Wilderness. I wonder what was the purpose for his run? He must have felt it would be a great achievement. No one else had done it. He would be the first. He would get an article written about him in the newspaper. Vanity will make people do stupid things.
Since I moved in to Montana, I've learned to respect the wilderness. A person needs to use caution and take serious precautions when traveling through bear country. There are recommendations for behavior in grizzly bear country:
No. 1 - don't travel alone.
No. 2 - make noise.
No. 3 - pay attention, be alert. You might know the bear is there before it knows you're there.
No. 4 - don't run. You're more likely to surprise a bear if you rush up on it.
A person should carry bear spray in case you encounter a grizzly. I've used the spray on a bear. It works.
The runner disregarded all the recommendations. I guess getting an article written about him in the newspaper is more important than his safety. Vanity can make people do dangerous things.
What was the runner planning to do if he encountered a bear? He didn't have bear spray (or a gun). Was he thinking he could outrun a grizzly bear? Not a chance.
Obviously, he wasn't planning for a bear encounter. But when you travel in bear country, that should be the first thing you should plan. Vanity can cloud logical thinking.
I guess the runner felt if he was attacked by a bear, that would be his problem. That is so wrong. If he got mauled by a bear, rescue crews would have to go in and retrieve his body. So he was not only putting his life in danger but other lives, too. Vanity makes a person forget other people's needs.
By definition, nature is everything in the universe that is not controlled by humans. The wilderness is a place for spiritual renewal. We go there to get away from civilization. People go to the wilderness to find peace.
The "Bob" is not a gym or a playground or a race track. It is not a place to prove yourself as a great athlete. It's not a place to be taken lightly. It is dangerous. You could die there.
If you want to prove yourself as a great athlete, go run the Boston Marathon. Of course, I doubt you'll get a newspaper article written about you. You have to do something stupid (and/or dangerous) for that.
We shouldn't be encouraging this kind of behavior. What if the next person gets attacked by a bear trying to break the marathon record. Maybe we should discourage this activity before the tragedy.
Thomas Lacerte lives in Kalispell.