2014 Chattanooga Mountain Stage Race, Day 3

Rock/Creek Chattanooga Mountain Stage Race – 3 Days, 3 Mountains, 60 Miles
Friday, June 13 – Sunday, June 15, 2014

Gear: Patagonia Air Flow Shirt, Patagonia Strider Pro Shorts, Smartwool PhD Graduated Compression Socks, Salomon Sense Pro Shoes, Suunto Ambit 2 (HR) Watch, Camelbak Handheld Bottle, Salomon S-Lab Soft Flask, Hammer Nutrition Perpetuem & Extreme Endurolytes

Day 3, Signal Mountain (20 Miles):

Well, we finally made it to Day 3. The first two days had taken their toll on quite a few runners and for good reason. Forty miles, a little over 4,000 feet of climbing and plenty of heat and humidity. They always say ‘save the best for last’ and Day 3 is by far the best day of this stage race. These trails have a great mix of super technical trails, steep climbs, fast down hills, almost 2,700 feet of climbing, and some gorgeous views.

Just like Day 2, Day 3 has never been a ‘good’ day for me. I’ve usually been so shot by day 3 that my favorite course ends up being a long suffering day in the woods. However, this year was shaping up a lot better… Thank you Jesus. Going into Day 3 my legs still felt good, I wasn’t having any issues with cramping/soreness and was doing a pretty good job of staying hydrated and fueled up for the last day.

Stage 3 course starts at the Signal Mountain High School soccer fields and runs some of the same trails as R/C StumpJump 50k course out to the Suck Creek Road crossing. From there runners make a 180-degree turn and head back up the same steep rocky climbs they just completed to begin a big 15-mile loop.

Everyone limped, hobbled and gathered around the starting line for the last 20 miles of fun. The last few seconds ticked off of the starting clock and in no time we were off and running. A short run through the parking lot and then off down some small gravel double track for the next mile to help spread the field before reaching the single track at Mushroom Rock. 

This gravel double track has wreaked havoc on plenty of runners in the past and this year was no exception. There are plenty of washouts and areas that jump out and grab runner’s ankles and can take a runner out very quickly. Thankfully I didn’t have any issues of my own for this section. Once at Mushroom Rock (MR) you take a long sweeping left hand turn down to some fast single track that drop runners down to an awesome wood swinging bridge at the bottom the gorge. My best advice for getting across the swinging bridge quickly and efficiently is a very fast walk/shuffle. Trying to run makes the bridge oscillate and causes any running difficult and extremely awkward. 

Across the bridge runners start making their way back up the climb on the other side. This climb is fairly runnable with very little technical sections but the roughly 400 feet of elevation gain in such a short distance make it difficult. At the top runners have a short ‘flat-er’ section before dropping down another 300 foot steep technical trail to the Aid #1 (3.3mi) at Suck Creek Road. Anyone shooting to beat any of their fellow runners will like this out and back section because it gives you an opportunity to see how far ahead or how far behind you are from your competition.

Leaving Aid #1 runner turn right around and begin heading back toward Mushroom Rock. The trip back to MR is a little more difficult than the initial trip from MR. Despite having two difficult climbs and only one good down hill on the way back to MR the return trip always feels somewhat easier because of the cheers and encouragement runners give each other as they pass on the out and back section. 

Coming back up to Mushroom Rock I noticed that I hadn’t seen a couple of runners that had been ahead of me on the overall time from the previous two days. I found out from some people at MR that one had dropped and the other was taking it very slow both due to some ankle injuries. Relieved to be back up the second climb and at the MR intersection I knew that the next few miles over to Aid #2 (9.4mi) were a relatively flat. The trails over to Edwards Point and Aid #2 are a lot of fun. These trails twist and wind around through the woods running right on the edge of the ridge giving some great views. 

There are plenty of runnable trails, rocks, roots, vegetation, and all the great elements of trail running that make this a very fun section. Rolling into Aid #2 at Edwards Point there is a spectacular view of the river below and the ridge lines surrounding the river. It’s definitely worth a quick look and photo while you refill water bottles and refuel.

I was sitting in 5th place at Aid #2 and hadn’t seen or heard anyone in the last 4 miles. It sounded like the four runners ahead of me were doing pretty well and I would have to make up a decent amount of time to catch them. Everything still felt pretty good and I figured I would do my best to make up some ground but was still shooting to have a sick-free Stage Race and figured I would do the best I could with the last 10+ miles of the race. 

The trail over to Aid #3 at Signal Point is only about 2.5-miles but is some of the most technical couple miles of trail out of the entire Stage Race. There are a few wooden swinging bridges in this section and plenty of rocks for those who enjoy the technical terrain. To top this section off there is a real hard climb as you reach the base of Signal Point. There are a combination of man made wooden stairs, rock steps and cables to help everyone make the climb up to Aid #3 (11.8mi).

Immediately leaving Aid #3 everyone runs up a short road section, past some families standing on the road handing runners lemonade and coke drinks and then past a senior home where there always seems to be some elderly people rocking on the front porch and cheering on everyone. It’s great to get some encouragement from everyone after making that Signal Point climb. Just past the senior home the course turns left off of the road and runs down beside a golf course on a nice double track trail that rolls smoothly down to some more difficult creek running sections. 

The creek running section is quite interesting, there are a lot of off-camber sections, rocks, roots, loose dirt, sketchy “trail” sections, etc. I was happy that I was able to run most of this , where in years past I’ve had to walk a large portion of this section. With God’s help too I didn’t break anything. I ate it at least 2-3 times and had even more close calls. As you close in on Aid #4 you start to run up and away from the creek. At Aid #4 (16.4mi) runners emerge from the single track onto a jeep road and gather any last few supplies for the last 3+ miles back to the finish area.

These last few miles back up the finish are non-technical and consist of forest service roads and a little bit of double track once you get back toward the school. I still hadn’t seen anyone since early on in the race so I figured I would push on as much as possible and at a minimum try to maintain my 5th place position. 

This last few miles went much faster than years past but were still fairly difficult considering the uphill climb that makes up a good portion of this section. The thought seeing my wife and daughters at the finish liner were a great motivation for me to run this last section strong. I noticed if I could maintain my current pace I had a chance to break 3 hours. I talked with God a little to take my mind off the hurt, focused on maintaining a good stride and before I knew it I was within earshot of the finish. 

Coming up the last small climb I started looking for my family and found them standing down by the finish line cheering me on as I emerged from the woods. Coming up to the finish I was able to grab my youngest and cross the finish line with her. What a great Father’s Day! 

I wasn’t able to chase down any of the lead four runners but managed to hold on to 5th place for the day and with God’s help was able to do it in under 3 hours.

I found my way straight to the ice pool to congratulate the other runners and cool off. My wife, daughters and other family gathered around the pool to congratulate me and the other runners as well and I was able to steal a few kisses from my beautiful wife.

Thanks to all the good memories and laughs from all the runners. Nashville crew… thanks for the great competition and the Shaggy comparison. I love it! Thanks to God for the great trails and beautiful scenery on all three days. Thank you to my family for crewing and cheering me on for this Father’s Day weekend. Thanks to Rock/Creek, WildTrails and all of the volunteers and personnel who put Stage 3 and the entire weekend together.

Day 3 – 5th place, 2:58:57

Overall 3 Day Total – 5th place, 7:41:53

Until the next race.

Nathan D. Holland
2014 Rock/Creek Race Team

2014 Chattanooga Mountain Stage Race, Day 2

Rock/Creek Chattanooga Mountain Stage Race – 3 Days, 3 Mountains, 60 Miles
Friday, June 13 – Sunday, June 15, 2014

Gear: Patagonia Air Flow Shirt, Patagonia Strider Pro Shorts, Smartwool PhD Graduated Compression Socks, Salomon Sense Pro Shoes, Suunto Ambit 2 (HR) Watch, Camelbak Handheld Bottle, Salomon S-Lab Soft Flask, Hammer Nutrition Perpetuem & Extreme Endurolytes

Day 2, Lookout Mountain (22 Miles):

Day 2 takes place on Lookout Mountain starting and finishing at the Lula Lake Land Trust area. Lula Lake offers some great hiking/running trails with some beautiful ridgeline views and a gorgeous waterfall. 

This area is only open the first and last Saturday of each month so it’s a real treat when you get an opportunity to visit. The trails are moderately technical with most of the trails being double track or relatively wide single track.

In the past, Day 2 has never played out in my favor. On both of my previous attempts I ended up throwing up a few times during the race, struggling through to the finish, and left completely drained for the final stage on Sunday. This year I wanted to do my best to recover for Day 2 and complete this stage still feeling good. So, following Friday’s Stage 1 I spent plenty of time in the ice pool, I started refueling as soon as my run was complete, rolled and stretched my muscles numerous times, and tried to get as much rest as possible. It must have worked, because I woke up Saturday morning feeling great. My legs were loose, nothing was hurting and I felt nice and rested for the day’s run.

Stage 2 course is shaped kind of like a dumbbell. There are two circular loops that are connected by an out-and-back trail. Of all three days, Stage 2 offers the best and easiest venue for family and friends to watch the runners. The start/finish area starts at the main parking area on the Lula Lake property and runners will run through this area twice throughout the race before coming back in for the finish.

Friday’s race had been extremely humid and the late afternoon and evening thunderstorms that rolled through the valley Friday really helped knock down the humidity for Saturday’s race. The temperatures Saturday morning were in the upper-60s and were forecasted to be into the mid-70’s by noon. The atmosphere was very lively and runners were looking forward to the great running conditions and some beautiful trails. The race director, Randy had warned runners on day 1 that most runners hold back on Stage 1, feel great at the start of Stage 2 and end up blowing the wheels off, and end up wiped out for Stage 3. It was true, I had fell victim to this scenario in my previous two attempts so I was focused on not putting myself in that position again this year.

Before we knew it, it was time to start. Everyone took off under the Salomon Start/Finish Arch for a nice ~3/4 mile run down the gravel road to spread the field. Runners are treated to a beautiful waterfall on their left about 1/2-mile down the gravel road. Past the waterfall a single track trail juts off to the right taking runners over to the steepest and most technical climb of the day. There is a short steep climb that involves a few rocky switch backs and ropes for aid in making the ascent. With the steepest climb of the day complete within the first 1.5 miles of the run the single track opens up to a nice double track trail that continues climbing up the ridge line. Off to the left are some gorgeous views of the valley and usually a nice breeze. 

This easy ridge climb continues for the next mile or so with a few flat sections mixed in to give your legs a break. It can seem like the ridge is never going to end and finally you make a hard right hand turn heading back down on another double track trail. Once you get closer to the bottom of the descent the trail narrows back to single track and starts winding in and out around the trees with some fun short climbs and quick descents. The last little bit of this initial loop has everyone running beside the creek back to an awesome wooden bridge that carries you over the creek and back to the start/finish area, Aid #1 (5.3mi). Coming through this aid station I was sitting around the top 10 again and felt like I was maintaining a reasonable pace that wouldn’t have the wheels falling off midway through the race.

Leaving Aid #1 runners run through the Lula Lake parking area and begin the climb out of the Lula Lake area and take a connector trail up toward Covenant College. For anyone familiar with the R/C Lookout Mountain 50 Mile Race some of this trail is similar to a portion of that race. It is a pretty consistent uphill climb for the next 5 miles to Aid #2 (10.7mi). The trails up to the next aid consist of washed out double track, smoother more runnable double track, some easy single track, and a little bit of exposed power line trails. There are a few downhill sections throughout to break up the perpetual climb up to the Covenant aid station. 

Finally when you come out on the steepest and longest power trail climb of the day you’re almost to Aid #2. I had caught a runner on my way up to this climb and had been running with them now for the past mile or so and it was nice to have a little conversation. This Aid was stocked with all the normal aid station paraphernalia; water, HEED, sweet and salty stuff, oranges, apples, and then… some watermelon… Awesome! Cold watermelon on a hot day’s run is phenomenal! With some fresh water bottles and two fists full of watermelon we were off.

The nice thing about all that climbing up to Aid #2 is that for the next 5 miles back to Lula Lake you know that it’s pretty much all downhill! It’s the reward for the last 5 miles of climbing. About 2 miles out from Aid #2 I heard some fellow runners coming up from behind and was able to run with a small pack of 3-4 runners for about 2 miles. Just a couple miles past Aid #2 you finish the lollipop portion of the Covenant aid station loop and get back onto the stick portion heading back on the same trail that you ran on when you left Lula Lake. This is a nice motivational section because runners are now going both directions and it’s nice to give words of encouragement to your fellow runners and it’s just as nice to receive encouraging words from them as well. 

As we made it back within earshot of Aid #3 (15.5mi) the couple of runners ahead of me got an extra boost of energy and picked up the pace and I let them go as I was not concerned with running anyone else’s race and was still feeling great and wanted to make sure I stayed with the plan of finishing day 2 with plenty left for the last day of running.

Leaving Aid #3 I was in 6th place and had a new that there was just a little of 6 miles left to get back to the start/finish line and see my wife and kids. Great motivation to finish as quickly as possible! Leaving Aid #3 runners head out to run the original loop in reverse, counterclockwise. This means a mile or so of flat single track winding around beside the creek before a nice steady climb back up on the ridge. This climb has really put a hurting on me in the past but not today. Before I knew it I had reached the top of the climb and began the next 1-1.5 mile “downhill” run along the ridge line. This ridge is considerably harder than it should be for a “downhill” run… or at least that’s what my body tells me every time I run this section. 

It’s a fact, it’s definitely uphill when running it clockwise so it just make since that it should be downhill when running it counterclockwise. However, my legs always feel like it’s uphill both ways. Oh well, at least there are beautiful views off the side of the ridge which almost makes up for the difficulty to run this ridge fast. You’ll know you’re coming to the end of the ridge run and getting ready to make the quick descent back down to the gravel road when the double track ends and you jump back on single track. This single track runs for a short distance before starting a series or quick switch backs down to the hand-rope climb that will drop you down to the gravel road. Once at the bottom runners take a short 1/8-mile run up the road and past that amazing waterfall, now on your right. 

Most people will have missed the waterfall at the start because it’s behind them as they’re running down the road, but this direction gives everyone an awesome view of this beautiful waterfall. After a quick view it’s time to get back to running because you’ve only got a mile or so to get back to the finish area. At the bridge runners will take a left and up a steep climb back on to some really fun single track. This trail climbs up and down, in and all around the roots, rocks and trees all along the creek that’s feeding that gorgeous waterfall. This is a fairly technical section and with 40+ miles over the past two days it can be somewhat treacherous if you get out of control. I’ve eaten it a few times in here but never more than a minor cut or bruise. As you make your way to a clearing and usually a small crowd of people you’ve made it to the last water crossing. This calf-high water crossing is pretty fun and feels great on tired legs and feet. 

I’ve always seen these awesome pictures of people running through this creek and it looks so easy. In the past I’ve been on the verge of death and have only felt like crawling through the creek. This year I felt great so I figured I could run through and maybe get one of those “cool creek crossing” photos… Well, I almost made it. I was mere feet from the end of the crossing and I busted. So, instead of a cool photo of me running gracefully through the creek I got a picture of me on all fours clumsily climbing out of calf-high water! Oh well, it felt great. With only a 1/4-mile of gravel road to the finish I laughed off my clumsiness and sloshed off to meet my girls. 

The finish area at Lula Lake is a blast. Runners can hang out with the family/friends and cheer on runners that are finishing as well as those that still have an hour or so of running. There is a great place for kids and adults to climb into the creek and lay around in the cool water. WildTrails and Rock/Creek have music, food, popsicles, and cold drinks to help runner recover for the next day.

Recovery included another bottle of Perpetuem, pasta, ice pool, and some playing in the creek with my little girls!

I thank God for the amazing trails and beautiful scenery at the Lula Lake Land Trust and for being able to enjoy this with my family and friends. Thank you to Mary (stepmom) for coming out and supporting me all day, Jodi (step… dog?), Katy and the girls for cheering me on through the finish and for hanging out with me in the ice pool and creek. A BIG thanks to Rock/Creek, WildTrails and all of the volunteers and personnel who put Stage 2 together.

Day 2 – 7th place, 2:34:10 

Until Day 3…

Nathan D. Holland
2014 Rock/Creek Race Team

2014 Chattanooga Mountains Stage Race, Day 1

Rock/Creek Chattanooga Mountain Stage Race – 3 Days, 3 Mountains, 60 Miles
Friday, June 13 – Sunday, June 15, 2014

Gear: Patagonia Air Flow Shirt, Patagonia Strider Pro Shorts, Smartwool PhD Graduated Compression Socks, Salomon Sense Pro Shoes, Suunto Ambit 2 (HR) Watch, Camelbak Handheld Bottle, Salomon S-Lab Soft Flask, Hammer Nutrition Perpetuem & Extreme Endurolytes

Background:

Oh stage race… You have been an elusive sphinx for me in the past. The past two years I have tried to break the eight-hour mark for this three-day event, each time falling short by roughly 30 minutes. Well, God willing, not this year. 

Competition this year was pretty good, there were some fast people from Nashville, Huntsville and the surrounding Chattanooga area. Then there were some super-fast people from Florida/Colorado who came out to burn up the course. The Stage Race always seems to attract a great group of people from around the country and is one of my favorite aspects of this race.

Day 1, Raccoon Mountain (18 Miles):

The Raccoon Mountain trails are minor-to-moderately technical, very runnable single track trails that are a lot of fun to run. The very popular Rock/Creek Scenic City Trail Half and Full Marathons are run on most of the same trails with Day 1 of the Stage Race adding a few miles of different trails.

Driving up to Raccoon Mountain on Friday morning, there was an awesome cloud/fog mixture engulfing the entire mountain and temperatures were in the mid-to-upper 60s. After catching up with a few old friends and putting some faces with some new social media friends at the Laurel Point start/finish area everyone started gathering around for the start of the race. 

The start of Day 1 sends runners down a short 1/8-mile pavement section before taking a hard left onto the single track. Thus, it is vital to push hard for this first pavement section, as otherwise you’ll be stuck in the conga line of walking and jogging the first mile or so until you have a chance to spread out. 

As we counted down the last five seconds off the start cloc,k everyone put on their game face and was ready to go out and run. As we shot off the starting line I was running beside Memphis superstar Olaf Wasternack and not 100 feet into the run he abruptly pulled off to the side of the pavement and fell out of sight. I knew that Olaf was a strong contender, so I was hoping that everything was alright. 

The first few miles up to aid station one seem to fly by with all of the excitement at the start of the Stage Race. This makes it easy to get sucked in and push yourself too hard and pay for it later. Keeping that in the back of my mind I decided to focus on staying comfortable and keep reminding myself that I still had two more days. 

Within a mile in the race we were spread out from the main pack and I was running alone somewhere in the top ten. Coming through Aid #1 (4.7mi) everything still felt good except the buckets of perspiration pouring out of my body… I didn’t realize how humid it was at the beginning of the race but could definitely tell how high it was now. 

The next 3+ miles rolled by quickly as I worked my way down to Aid #2 (8.0mi). For those that are familiar with the Scenic City Trail Race, just past Aid #2 is where the course changes for the Stage Race. In the stage race runners run the Small Intestines trail before running up the Grindstone trail over to Aid #3 around the Visitor Center. Small Intestines is a nice section of trails that winds in and around allowing runners to see people in front of them and behind them throughout various stages of the section. 

Somewhere around mile 10 or so I finally heard someone coming from behind me and turned to see Olaf blistering his way up the trail. Come to find out, Olaf’s running watch was ripped off his arm only 50 feet into the race and he made the decision to stop and grab the expensive piece of equipment. This minor setback put Olaf at the complete back of the pack and really shows how good of an athlete he is to have worked his way all the way back up to the top ten despite having to pass some 200+ runners and all on tight single track trails. 

We had caught another fellow superstar, Cody Goodwin. Once the two were together they seemed to feed off of each other’s energy. I ran with them as long as I could but soon realized I was feeling very tired and decided I couldn’t stay with them as I seemed to be hitting a low. 

By the time I reached Aid #3 (13.0mi) I was almost completely out of energy. I knew the next 5 miles were going to be a little rough but figured as long as I could get through it without losing too much ground I could recover for Saturday and Sunday stages. Leaving Aid #3 runners have 1/2-to-3/4-mile of easy downhill/flat running before coming to the visitor center and getting a very fast downhill section that really lets runners fly. Once at the bottom runners begin climbing out of the other side via a few quick switchbacks followed by some rolling climbs. 

Although this section of trails offers some of the most gorgeous views of the river and gorge I was not in the best mood to enjoy the views. I wasn’t expecting to hit a low like this on Day 1… I figured holding back and taking it easy would have left me feeling great the entire race with plenty of extra for Saturday and Sunday, but it didn’t feel like that at all. I struggled to keep any kind of decent pace through these last 5-miles. About 2 miles from the finish I heard the inevitable sound of footsteps and conversation as two other runners caught me and quickly passed me.

Thanks to God for giving me the strength to push through to the finish because I managed to retain a jog/run on flat and downhill sections and a walk/suffer-fest on the climbs. Finally I found my way to the R/C flags taking me off of the single track and back onto the pavement section that would lead me back to the start/finish line at Laurel Point. Crossing the line I was greeted by my beautiful wife and daughters who came out to cheer me on.

Recovery included a bottle of Perpetuem, bananas, pretzels, ice pool, and figuring out why I bonked so bad. As it turned out “everyone” seemed to struggle more than expected for Day 1. At the end of the day I wrote it off as very high humidity and changing my normal drink plan to Skratch Labs products versus Perpetuem and some decreased calorie intake. Don’t get me wrong the Skratch Lab products are great and I don’t fault them, just my failure to play with concentration mixtures enough before the race to understand how my body would fare during race conditions. Decided I would go back to my tried and true mixtures for Day 2 and see how that played out.

As always I want to give all the glory to God and thank Him for keeping me and all of the other runners safe throughout the day. Thanks to my beautiful family for coming to watch me finish. Thank you Rock/Creek for the running gear and support. Thanks to all of the volunteers and personnel who made the first day of the Stage Race happen.

Day 1 – 6th place, 2:08:46 

Until Day 2…

Nathan D. Holland
2014 Rock/Creek Race Team