That's no normal runner: Bear crashes US race

Runners got a fright when a bear briefly joined a race in the US state of Colorado.

The animal ambled across the road in front of startled competitors in the Garden of the Gods 10 Mile Run near Colorado Springs on Sunday.

Donald Sanborn took a series of photos of the bear crossing the road, stopping runners in their tracks.

Mr Sanborne said he has encountered wildlife bears, elk, turkeys, bobcats on training runs, but had never run into an animal interrupting a race before.

He said the bear appeared to be confused and working out whether it was safe to cross the road before it dashed across and vanished.

"I thought 'Hurry up you goofy bear. Don't you know I'm in a race here. I don't have all day!'", he wrote in a blog post.