Upchuck 50k - Type 2 Chattanooga Fun

Upchuck is a Chattanooga Cult Classic type Ultra. No frills, just fun! This race has been kept a local treasure, allowing only 75 runners and registration lasting only minutes! I’ve always missed registration for one reason or another since I moved here and I really wanted to knock this race off the list. This year has a special nuance to it. Race registration was delayed when the website crashed. I was a part of multiple group chats checking to see if the website was back up. About 40 minutes later, everything was resolved, and I could register. Despite the gaffe, the race sold out in minutes.

 

The course is point-to-point along the Cumberland Trail from the Blue Hole in Sale Creek to Soddy Daisy. The early November time of year is in the middle of race season, the leaves have changed color, and the temperatures are typically mild. Another fun aspect of the race is the camaraderie. The bus trip from the finish to the start is filled with a lot of good energy and strong runners, the starting point is filled with Ray Jay heckling the entrants beforehand. Can’t believe he is “retiring” after 17 years.

 

Link to Ray Jay’s Roll Call: https://www.instagram.com/p/DCRhGX2Rshe (Credit to Nathan Holland)

 

The race started as soon as the announcements were done, and everyone sent it down toward the blue hole. I let the top 10 people go ahead and settle into the 2^nd pack. The start of the trail is filled with a technical single track. Everyone is bombing the trail, sending it at a pace I’m not quite comfortable with. I am making mistakes rolling my ankles frequently. I got through the first aid station at mile 8 struggling. I quickly fuel up and go.

 

The next section goes even worse! I can’t see straight. I see white dots as I’m staring into the sun, I got lost on several occasions, missing switchbacks and turns frequently, I can’t regulate my heart rate, and my ankles feel like Jello. I was not having a great day, I got passed by an endless amount of people and started overrunning again out of frustration, making even more mistakes.

 

One of my friends, Luke passed me climbing, gave me a fist bump, and told me it was time to rally. I was legit mid-pack, about 45^th out of 85 runners at mile 13. The worst performance I can recall and I was ready to quit altogether. I slowly got my legs under me and made it to the 2^nd aid station at mile 18. I chugged 3 soft flasks of water and told everyone I felt terrible. I got offered a beer and happily accepted an IPA. Instead of sipping, I decided to chug it in 5 seconds after downing 48oz of water.

 

Video: https://www.instagram.com/reel/DCM89e3PXcQ/ (Credit to Woodland Adventures)

That beer revitalized me!! I felt like a brand-new person. I leave the aid station with 10 or so miles remaining. I promise to give the rest of the race all I have left and run down the highway. As we head back into the woods, I catch and pass groups of runners at a time feeling rejuvenated. I keep going as hard as I can knowing there’s only a handful of miles to go. I’ve even passed a couple runners that started faster than I did. There was a bandit aid station provided by Lucien with liquids. I would have grabbed another beer, but I was too focused on making up lost time from earlier. There are a couple steep climbs where I am literally bear-crawling up the ridge because I was so determined to make up time. When we finally reached the steep road descent, I saw 2 runners just in front of me with 1.5 miles to go. I pushed it as hard as I could go and passed them quickly. I ran a 6:50 mile, with part of that on the trail before reaching the road, so I’m guessing my split was close to a 6:00 pace before reaching the neighborhood.

 

Coming into the park, I felt relief. I was very disoriented and forgot to touch the trash can. Coincidentally, that’s exactly how I felt (How fitting!?). When all was said and done, I was handed a marker and told to sign my name by my time. I was surprised that I had worked back up to the 14^th position. Lots of strong runners finished ahead of me, and I would have loved to mix it up with these awesome people on a better day.

 

I spent the rest of the day talking to my running friends about the race, supporting and encouraging finishers, and enjoying a beautiful day outside. Thank you to Wild Trails and the countless volunteers for making this event possible and what it is today! Looking back at my Strava data, I left quite a bit out of time and effort on the course. I was too hard on myself in the moment of the race, and it probably distracted me from recovering quicker. I look forward to doing this again (hopefully next year). Congrats to everyone who finished! I just signed up for The Conquer, so this was a good way to kick off training!