An Alaska marathon athlete used a repellant spray to fend off an attacking bear that officials say injured her while she ran on a popular trail recently – an encounter that she has since described as “a nightmare come to life”.
asserted
she → use → life
The particularly harrowing episode unfolded on 13 August, when a woman who later identified herself online as marathon winner Klaire Rhodes, 28, was running alone on the Wolverine Bowl trail in Chugach state park, officials with Alaska’s fish and game department said.
asserted
officials → unfold → department
A brown bear on the trail attacked and injured her, according to the agency.
uncertain
bear → attack → agency
She was equipped with bear spray and deployed the irritant on the animal to halt the attack – before “self-rescuing” to the Prospect Heights trailhead in the city of Anchorage.
asserted
She → equip → Anchorage
The runner was then brought to a local hospital for treatment, officials said.
asserted
officials → bring → treatment
Biologists interviewed her and went to the attack site to look for signs of the bear, but didn’t find any.
asserted
Biologists → interview → any
They said they then posted warning signs at the trailhead while also reminding visitors to – among other things – carry deterrents such as bear spray.
asserted
they → say → spray
Fish and game department officials didn’t name Rhodes in their statement on the incident.
asserted
officials → name → incident
But on Sunday, she wrote in a social media post that she had been the attacked runner, adding: “I … feel incredibly fortunate that I came out of the situation with relatively minor injuries.”
asserted
I → write → injuries
Rhodes said the “most severe” of those was “a deep puncture wound” to her left hip as well as “claw and teeth marks” on her body.
asserted
severe → say → body
“At risk of sounding dramatic but being totally honest, the moment felt like a nightmare come to life,” the professional runner’s post continued.
asserted
post → sound → life
“And yes, bear spray works.”
asserted
spray → work → ?
Rhodes recounted how “running in the Chugach is where I feel most at home”.
asserted
I → recount → home
Alluding to the bear whose path crossed with hers, she said: “It just so happens to also be someone else’s home, too, and despite all the precautions in the world, it’s just a risk to live life in the way we love.”
asserted
we → allude → way
She also remarked, “The outcome was just about as good as it could have been, and I’m actually really proud of how I handled a completely terrifying situation.”
uncertain
I → remark → situation
Having won three consecutive Mount Marathon races, as reported by the Anchorage Daily News, Rhodes said she had been preparing to race in Europe “in less than two weeks”.
asserted
she → win → weeks
She said she was unsure what the attack meant for her race preparations.
asserted
attack → say → preparations
And she explained having mixed feelings about being able to get back to racing soon and simultaneously grappling with anxiety at the thought of again “running in the woods”.
asserted
she → explain → woods
“Strange to feel overwhelmed with gratitude to be OK and knowing I probably have some intense trauma to work through,” Rhodes wrote.
asserted
Rhodes → feel → trauma
Alaska wildlife officials estimate that hundreds of thousands of bears inhabit the state.
asserted
thousands → estimate → state
They calculate that some areas may have one bear every square mile.
uncertain
areas → calculate → bear
The attack on Rhodes came roughly four months after a brown bear injured two US army soldiers in a mountainous training area at the Elmendorf-Richardson base in Anchorage.
asserted
bear → come → Anchorage
A brown bear on 9 July then mauled a resident of the city of Kenai after climbing – with two cubs – over a fence into her front yard, Alaska’s public safety department reported.
asserted
department → maul → yard
Nine days later, Anchorage police said, a bear attacked and injured a woman who was hiking with a friend and three dogs.
asserted
who → say → friend
A study by the state of Alaska’s epidemiology section, meanwhile, counted at least 68 people who were hospitalized in connection with bear attacks during a 17-year period beginning in 2000.
asserted
who → count → 2000
Neither authorities nor Rhodes provided specifics about the bear attack that victimized her.
asserted
that → provide → her
Although she said she was grateful for an outpouring of moral support she had received as word of the attack spread, she said she refused to “rehash” its details online “because the internet is a weird place with a lot of unsolicited opinions”.
asserted
internet → say → opinions
“I might share the full story another time, which I know will open a can of worms of opinions on what I did or didn’t do wrong,” Rhodes wrote.
uncertain
Rhodes → share → what
“But I’d rather be in control of the narrative instead of leaving the [social media] trolls to their speculation.”
asserted
I → leave → speculation
The Aporia
