Renowned Ultramarathon Runner Attacked by Coyote During Race

An athlete renowned for participating in grueling ultramarathon races was left rattled after a coyote attacked him during a recent run.

Runner Dean Karnazes was competing in a 150-mile race on a trail near San Francisco's Golden Gate Bridge in the early hours of Monday. At around 3 a.m. and close to 37 miles into the run, Karnazes heard something suspicious while alone on the trail.

"I was running and I heard some footsteps behind me, I thought it was a big dog on the trail and I turned to look and it was a coyote," he told NBC Bay Area, saying that the animal was attempting to take an energy bar he was eating. "Honestly I think it didn't know what to do. He was looking at me, I was looking at him, he was going for the bar."

The animal was strong enough to knock Karnazes to the ground, causing him to sustain wounds that bled. Despite initial reports stating that he was "bloodied" in the attack, the Golden Gate National Recreation Area took to Twitter to note that the fall caused the injuries, and that the coyote did not bite him.

"While we appreciate the coverage on this, we want to emphasize that the injuries shown were caused by a fall," the park tweeted. "The coyote did not bite the individual involved in this encounter."

Karnazes has had considerable success in the ultramarathon field, including numerous high-profile race victories. As NBC Bay Area noted, he has run races at the South Pole, and competed in "50 marathons in 50 consecutive days in 50 different states." He has even competed in swimming races, which at one point led to him being attacked by a shark.

"Both incidents were terrifying," Karnazes wrote on Instagram.

The term "ultramarathon" refers to any marathon-style foot race that exceeds the traditional length of 26.2 miles. The most common lengths are 50 miles, 50 kilometers, 100 miles and 100 kilometers.

Karnazes added that many people who use the trail he was running on have a tendency to leave food for wild animals like coyotes. This, he said, contributes to attacks like the one he endured.

"Let's cut that out," he told NBC Bay Area. "Let wild animals be wild animals."

A spokesman for the California Department of Fish and Wildlife backed up that comment in a statement to the outlet.

"Conflict with coyotes stems from people feeding them," Ken Paglia said. "Coyotes see opportunity. They get conditioned to think they can get food from us. They're going to keep pushing that boundary."

Newsweek has reached out to the Golden Gate National Recreation Area for comment.