Chattanooga Stage Race 2021

 The Hook – 3 Days. 3 Mountains. 60 Miles. Some of Chattanooga’s most difficult and remote trails amid the hot summer mornings. My response: Bring it on! This was a race I had eyed up and at the top of my list when I moved to Chattanooga. I knew this race was going to be difficult and my goal was to finish, while avoid walking except steep hilly sections.

 

Preparation – I scouted the trails ahead of time, since the courses and terrain were going to be difficult. I was familiar with the most of Raccoon and Lookout Mountain based on previous runs and races. I’ve ran sections of Signal mountain in the opposite direction, but my overall experience was lacking. With Signal Mountain being the most technical trail, I made it a priority to investigate and run sections of the trail to have enough confidence going into the race. It was an absolute struggle with GPS issues, and body not feeling well so I had concerns about doing well this day. 

 

Expectations – With COVID delay and suspending race entries, the registrations were down with most people being local and/or regional. I had a loose target of 10 hours total. No idea what to expect in terms of standings, based on the some of the elite runners who have competed in this event.

 

Friday – Raccoon Mountain. Beautiful morning. A little chilly at sunrise, but the temperatures picked up quickly. This is a loop around the TVA facility located within Raccoon mountain. This is a good easy start to the series with a few technical sections, but quite a lot of free area to speed run and gain time. Looking at the starting line, I felt quite intimidated. There were a lot of strong looking runners ready to go. It was great finally having a race with COVID sanctions lifted. It was great seeing 55-60 runners at the starting line for this event.

 The start was fast and furious. I found myself towards the back of the 1^st group going all out trying to hang on. After about 3 miles I decided to drop the 1^st group, so I didn’t burn out heading into the tough technical sections. I felt pretty good heading into the technical sections in 8^th place or so halfway into Stage 1 heading into a hilly and technical section known as the Small Intestine (for its shape). This 3-mile segment proved to be quite difficult as a lot of shuffling between positions occurred. Backing off my pace early on proved to be advantageous. I was able to pass a couple of runners while only getting passed once in this section and felt strong exiting out back into the runnable sections. I worked steadily through the technical sections and was able to finish the 18-mile Stage 1 course in 2:40:46 which turned out to be 6^th after Stage 1, just ahead of several runners.

I didn’t have a lot of time to recover because I had to go to work afterwards for some training. The food was amazing (for all 3 days) and the ice bath did miracles. I felt great about how Day 1 went but knew that Day 2 would bring the biggest challenge of the entire weekend.

 

Saturday – Most spirits were still high after Day 1, but this day was going to be difficult. It was a warm and muggy morning on a course that bottlenecks quickly after the 1^st mile, so a quick start was key. I made so to get out quickly without overdoing it at the start and was able to be 4^th in line heading down past mushroom rock and cross this suspension bridge. With 8 of us closely packed together it was quite difficult to cross. What we didn’t know expect was a nest of wasps on the bridge and they went crazy with all the shaking on the bridge. The lead group got stung a lot, and I remember getting hit 7 or 8 times along my legs. Thankfully my upper body and face remained relatively safe. However, I did have a slight reaction to them, which spiked my heart rate and anxiety, so I backed off a bit to recover as we headed towards Suck Creek on the backside.

 

Somehow, another person and I missed the downward turn and end up on this abandoned logging road which added a couple of minutes, luckily, we were able to connect back on the trail without losing too much time or exerting too much effort. The steep uphill back towards mushroom rock was brutal with 2-way traffic on single trail and I start feeling lightheaded and dizzy after crossing the bridge and heading up toward mushroom rock. I fell a couple of times and decided that I needed to slow down and walk for a few minutes to regain my bearings.

 

After making the turn past Mushroom rock, the course took us to the southern edge of the mountain with some of the most spectacular views I’ve ever seen. The course was tricky with narrow visibility with many twists and turns. I was extremely fortunate to be in a group with 2 excellent veterans, Alondra and Robert, are amazing super long-distance ultra-runners. They navigated the course so smoothly and methodically that I learned so much about footwork and weight balance on uneven terrain. I struggled with some of the steep climbs and directional and elevation changes but was able to hold my own battling nausea and vertigo. I was on the verge of quitting if things didn’t improve.

 

Making it out of park and climbing the steep staircase was a much-needed aid station. I took a couple of extra minutes to recover and recuperate in hopes of being able to continue. I felt a little better and knowing the next couple miles were easy I decided to continue. I was able to make up a lot of time of a couple of connector roads and an open trail section. It became a bit of a struggle again as more technical sections came along a small creek to negotiate, but I was able to smoothly and steadily until the final stretch, which was open trail again. I was able to quicken the pace and pass a couple of runners before the finish of the 2^nd stage in a time of 3:43:04. I ended up in 6^th place again just ahead of a group of runners and remained 6^th place overall. 

 

I was so relieved to have finished Stage 2 and remain in the same position I was before. I really struggled to complete the course and that reassurance helped me prepare and energize for the final stage on Sunday. This day was quite difficult, 5 runners finished the course within 5 minutes of the cutoff off time of 5½ hours. There was an amazing spread of gumbo with all the fixings spread on wax paper with broth on the side to help aid in recovery.

Sunday – I was extremely tired heading into the last day. Most of us were after the difficult 2^nd day. Several runners dropped after the 2^nd day due to injuries and fatigue, including some that were near the top. There was a light rain/mist that was coming down adding to the humidity. My goal was to listen to my body and just finish. Thankfully the course was beautiful with mostly open trails. I got out to a fresh start with my legs feeling good and was in 3^rd place heading through the 1^st loop at Lula Lake. The 2 leaders were gone, but there was another strong runner who caught up with me and we stayed together for most of the day. Will and I worked through Covenant College’s CCT loops trading places through the course. I felt strong until the massive hill at halfway…the sun was baking on me and that exhausted most of the energy I had left in the reserve. The return trip back was so much fun following the creek on an unclear path. I started to feel quite exhausted as we were exiting the CCT area and heading back to Lula Lake losing contact with Will and settling into 4^th place. I felt ok at the last aid station to tackle the last 6-7 miles. I just wanted to stay in my zone and finish strong.

Little did I know that things were going to fall off the rails quickly. My body was starting to fall apart on me. Pain and discomfort starting to pop up in a couple places, and I was starting to pull a small fever, rapidly overheating and needing a lot of fluids to calm my body. I had cramps and spasms throughout my hips and legs but I was able to negotiate the uphill sections but was able to make it to the top of the ridge. I started to hear footsteps going up to the top of the ridge and then I see someone come up from behind me and I was confused. This runner I haven’t seen on the course all weekend passed me in the open, which has been where I have been making up my time and was flying through to the finish.

I felt okay going down the rock face at the beginning. I thought to myself, there’s only 1.5 miles left, we get to go by a waterfall, this should be a relaxing finish. I couldn’t be more wrong. To get down this waterfall, I had to go down this slippery rock path that was unmarked. I rolled my ankle and fell on my butt a couple of times, but I was fortunate enough to reach the bottom. I made it down to the waterfall and saw that we were directly to the extremely difficult rock stair climb.

I was unable to pull myself up on leg strength alone. My legs did not have the strength to climb on its own. I had to pull myself up on my hands and knees reaching and climbing one step at a time. I even got mocked by a duo watching and I had zero issues cursing out the older man like a sailor on Father’s Day. This was my breaking point. I just wanted this to end and I didn’t know how much more it was going to take to pull myself out of this waterfall. After 10 minutes I pulled myself out for the last stretch. I was physically and mentally done. I had double vision, muscle cramping, dehydration, rolled my ankle several times, so I was light jogging to the finish negotiating this tricky rhythm section. Every step I could feel my ankle swell more and more.

After escaping that, there’s only half a mile to go. The finish line is in sight and here is this giant creek crossing. I try to carefully navigate the creek and my foot get stuck in a soft sandy spot at the bottom and I twist my ankle worse trying to get out of that. I fell straight into the water and screamed in pain. I was able to get myself across, now in pain with the finish line in sight. I’m now limping towards the finish line with a ¼ mile to go as quickly as I can. After a couple minutes, the finish line is in sight and I finally finish the Stage 3 in 5^th place in 4:09:06. I tripped over myself in exhaustion 20 ft past the start/finish line as I trying to regain my bearings. I alone did not have the strength to finish that race, I truly believe I was propelled and push through by God. I laid there for 15 minutes trying to recover as volunteers brought me food and drinks.

The rest of the day was a celebration applauding fellow runners completing their race and enjoying food, drinks, and the beach. I stayed until everything was over. Getting to enjoy the moment with fellow runners and volunteers was just as fun as the event itself. It was the hardest thing I have physically done.

 

Experience – Overall, this was a great experience. Having this spread out over 3 days really gave me a chance to prepare for each stage and get to enjoy the environment and comradery that normally doesn’t happen on a single day ultra. I had the chance to see some remote views and meet some great runners and volunteers. The food is absolutely amazing, and I may have gained weight across the 3 days.  I recommend any runners near Chattanooga or anyone that wants to visit the city to sign for this race. You will not be disappointed with the food, the course, or the city.

 

Overall Performance/Evaluation – Officially, I finished the 3 stages in 6^th/6^th/5^th and my overall finish was 4^th based on the dropouts throughout the weekend with a time of 10:32:56. I came into the weekend with a loose target goal of 10 hours, but I am very happy with my time. These courses are amazing, with incredible views, remote locations, and require technical mastery of difficult regions. This was a COVID reduced field, so I will likely never finish the race this high again, but I look forward to the event in 2022.