Parkites run all 100 miles of the Bear Lake ultra race

Jason Berry, his headlamp light leading the way as he runs the 100 mile course at Bear Lake on the border of Utah and Idaho. Photo: Will Berry

BEAR LAKE, Utah — For 25 hours and 15 minutes last weekend, 49 year old Jason Berry of Park City ran the 100 miles of the Bear Lake ultra endurance race.

Will taking the photo of himself as a race pacer and his dad Jason in the background on the trail in the middle of the night. — Will Berry takes a photo of himself as a race pacer with his dad Jason Berry in the background on the trail in the middle of the night.

Berry placed 32nd in his gender, and 33rd overall in the point-to-point race through the pines, golden aspen and red maples of the Wasatch-Cache National Forest of Utah, in the Bear River Range of Idaho and finishing at Bear Lake. The mere fact that he posted a finish time at all is a goal in and of itself as results of these events have more DNFs than finishers.

The race had a 6 a.m. start time on Friday, and a 36 hour cut-off. It climbed 22,816′ of elevation, with a maximum elevation of 9043′, a minimum elevation of 4852’, and an average elevation of 7320′.

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A random racer running the Bear 100 in the fall foliage. — A racer runs the Bear 100 in the fall foliage. Photo: Kristen Berry

Berry told TownLift, “The race was amazing. I had a really good day out there and was able to experience it with my wife, Kristin, providing crew support and my 16-year-old son, Will, and his friend, Tory, pacing me. In addition, I ran several miles with Park City friends Tobias Sorensen, Danny Connolly, Patrick Hayes and Mark Christopherson. There were other PC locals in the race as well. The course is one of the most beautiful in ultra running and organized by a great team comprised of hundreds of volunteers.”

The podium for the overall was:

Zachary Garner, 23 years old, finish time 17:11:51
Jake Krong, 39 years old, finish time 19:09:56
Jesse Rich, 33 years old, finish time 19:13:35

(L - R) Will Berry, his dad Jason Berry, and their friend Tory Hoffman at the Finish Line of Jason's 100 mile race. — (L – R) Will Berry, his dad Jason Berry, and their friend Tory Hoffman at the Finish Line of Jason’s 100-mile race.

Berry enters an average of two or three races a year, some 50 miles, some 100. This was his sixth time running this Bear 100 race and also his fastest, with a personal best. It was his second-fastest for a 100-miler, after his 2012 ‘Wasatch 100’ miler back in 2012 with a finish time of 24:47.42 in which he placed 18th in his gender class and 20th overall.

Jason and Will Berry as Jason crosses the finish line. Photo: Kristin Berry

Will Berry and Tory Hoffman each paced, a practice officially encouraged by industry standards, for approximately 15 miles, and Will got to run with his dad to the finish line.