Davy Crockett Bear Chase Marathon set for April 2008
Groveton News - September 2007

  GROVETON, TEXAS-Joseph Sweeney, of Ayrshire, Scotland, along with his young son Connor, are excited to come to Texas to run in the inaugural year of the Davy Crockett Bear Chase Marathon in April of 2008.  Eight year old Connor will participate in the companion event, the “Li’l Critter Possum Walk” for 8-10 year-olds.  Joseph saw inform-ation about the marathon in Runner’s World and is registered for the event.
  The marathon, a fundraiser of the Trinity County Chamber of Commerce, begins in Groveton, Texas and continues through the Davy Crockett State Forest.  It is rumored a friendly bear will greet the marathoners, and Davy Crockett will be hunting him along the marathon track.  The kids in the Possum Walk event will also get to meet and play with Davy and the not-so-shy bear.
   Joseph will run the event as part of his vacation from teaching 11-18 year old in chemistry and religious studies in Scotland.  He lives near the famous Loch Lomond and is a mountain climbing leader for his students in the Scottish mountains, called “Munros” after Sir Ian Munro who logged them.  Joseph’s father chal-lenged his son to run marathons after contracting Parkinson’s disease. To date, Joseph has run marathons in Rotterdam, Brugge, Edinburgh, San Francisco, and Toronto, raising
funds for a local children’s hospice called Children’s Hospice Association of Scotland (CHAS).  Soon he goes to Iceland to add yet another race to this credit.  Joseph and Connor will be hosted locally next year at the Davy Crockett Bear Chase Marathon, and local hosts are being sought to house runners from other countries.
  The Davy Crockett Bear Chase Marathon is currently posted on such marathon websites as Marathon Guide, Running Times, Inside Texas Running, Runner’s World, 50 States Marathon, and other European running websites. Full marathon, half marathon, and relays will be run at the event.  The event is attracting attention from local marathon clubs in Texas as well as the European marathon networks. Steve and Paula Boone, veterans of marathons all over the world and advisors to many organizations including several countries on how to run successful marathons, are assisting with the event. The Chamber is fortunate to have these experienced and enthusiastic mentors to help plan and stage the event. See www.50statesmarathonclub.cm/bear.html for more information.