Coyote Attacks Marin Ultramarathoner: Report

MARIN COUNTY, CA — A Marin ultramarathon runner was attacked by a coyote early Friday morning at a Golden Gate Bridge parking lot, The San Francisco Chronicle reports.

Dean Karnazes, 59 of Kentfield, posted a video on Instagram showing facial wounds he suffered in the early Thursday morning attack.

Karnazes was about 40 miles into the 150-mile Headlands Endurance Run when the attack occurred at about 3 a.m. Thursday at the Golden Gate’s west parking lot. He was taking a granola bar break when the animal pounced, knocking him to the ground.

“It happened in a flash,” he told The Chronicle.

Karnazes said he suffered no bite wounds but was injured after falling on his ribs and face, the report said. He smacked the coyote with a walking stick, scaring away the animal.

A National Park Service spokesman appeared to cast doubt on Karnazes' account, telling The Chronicle that it is “very, very unusual for a coyote to initiate any kind of approach or charge of a human.”

Read more in The San Francisco Chronicle