Bear Water Run
White Bear Lake, MN
- 20 Miler, 10 Miler
- Road (Paved)
- Official race website
The White Bear Lake Lions Club has held the Bear Water Run event annually to raise funds that support the Club’s long-standing work where proceeds are returned to the White Bear Lake community. Bear Water Run was started in 2000 after the Lions Club was searching for new fundraising ideas. … MORE
Local Historical Weather (Sep 12):
| 2025 | 2024 | 2023 | 2022 | 2021 | |
| H (°F) | 83 | 84 | 64 | 74 | 70 |
| L (°F) | 63 | 59 | 51 | 50 | 55 |
Find Nearby Lodging (hotel, rental, etc.):
Vet hot course!
Pre-race: What's on the website is all you get for information. There is no FAQ or pre-race email. There was no course time limit listed but at packet pick up … MORE
Pre-race: What’s on the website is all you get for information. There is no FAQ or pre-race email. There was no course time limit listed but at packet pick up we were verbally told it was a 5 hour cut off for the 20 miler.
Packet Pick Up: Was at the White Bear Lake Armory. It was a bit hard to find the entrance as there was no sign in the lawn. It was a hand written sign on a window. The only thing given out at pick up was your bib. The shirts are given out on race day. So you’re almost better just getting your bib on race day.
Course: The course goes around White Bear Lake and you can see the lake for most of the course but it does cut through some neighborhoods. One loop around is 10 miles and you do a 2nd loop for 20 miles. It falls on the date where most people are doing their 20 mile run for the Twin Cities marathon. I thought the scenery was nice. The first 3-4 miles are through nicely shaded areas but after that you were exposed to more open area and it was a super hot and humid day. Everyone was struggling. There were plenty of water stations and lots of ppl on bikes and a car circling to make sure everyone was ok or to offer rides back to the start. The race did not provide any porta potties on the course. They relied on the public restrooms in parks which were at about mile 2, 4, and 6 then nothing until you got back to the start. You had to watch for the signs that pointed where to go. One sign was turned around. A large portion of the course was on the shoulder of a 2-way road but there basically wasn’t any shoulder to run on and cars couldn’t easily get over. This was also a VERY hilly course with lots of turns. You would go up a steep hill, turn the corner and go up another hill. My Strava said 700 ft on one loop. I did register for the 20 miler and started the 2nd loop but opted to back track to the start because it was just too hot. The race doesn’t cost much and being it was so hot I sort of wish I had opted to skip the run so I could have started at 4am when it was cooler. I wasn’t the only one who opted for 1 loop instead of 2 and that is the one nice thing about the course is you have that option as they just moved me down to the 10-miler.
Post-race: Tech type fabric shirts. They had a nice design on them but the sizing ran very large. I didn’t see much in terms of post-race food. I saw donuts and someone said there was bananas but I didn’t see them. It was nice sitting in the park in the shade afterwards and it’s at the beach so you could cool off.
Overall: This was put on by the Lions so the money was going to a good cause. I appreciate that someone is out there hosting a 20-miler in line with the dates of the TC marathon. I just wish there was more pre-race information, maybe a pre-race email, and a FAQ in the website.