bebackon…

Endurance athletes are a different breed. We like to go long, thrive in the hours upon hours of time in the woods, be it on foot or bike. We push past our comfort levels to get “there” (wherever there may be). I’d like to think we are fairly intelligent and wise, preparing adequate nutrition, hydration, [...]

Let me preface that by saying the race organization, course, volunteers, etc. were stellar; it was my own personal performance that failed. I started off slow & easy, feeling ok. I knew the trails of Raccoon inside & out, so mentally I was prepared for the 18 miles ahead. Somewhere before the switchyard, my knee [...]

22 miles. 3000′ of climbing. temps climbing into the mid-90s. classic southern humidity. yeah, it was going to be a big day no matter how you looked at it. While the distances alone aren’t scary, add them up on consecutive days, with the aforementioned southern summer, and I know that I’ll have to play it [...]

June 5 was National Trails Day, so of course, we had to indulge. It was also a designated open gate day at the Lula Lake Land Trust… which so happens to be the site of Stage 1 of the Chattanooga Mountains Stage Race. Ah, everything falling perfectly into place! The race itself has 2 loops [...]

When someone mentions the John Muir Trail, thoughts of the amazing 215mile trail out west comes to mind. Little do people know we have a touch of the great man here in eastern Tennessee as well! It begins at Childer’s Creek near Reliance, on the northern bank of the Hiwassee River. From there, it stretches [...]

I played some birthday hookie last Tuesday and joined a friend (ex-pro-mountain biker turned competitive disc golfer turned hiking fanatic Hoff) for an epic day hike on the AT. We dropped the car at the NOC and grabbed a shuttle ride up to Stecoah Gap, where we would begin our 13.5 mile hike back to [...]

I’ve had this nagging on-again, off-again knee injury that keeps resurfacing at the most inappropo times…. such as for Wendy & Mark’s fun run, The Prentice Cooper Triple Loop Scoop. This was to be 2 loops of  the Mullens Cove trail (from the recent River Gorge Race’s 10.2 mile course) and 1 loop of the [...]

No unfortunately it didn’t involve any fluffy whole wheat blueberry banana crunch goodness, but it did involve nearly flat as a pancake scenic trails winding through thick florida palmettos, pines, oaks & swamps. This was my first visit to Wekiwa Springs State Park, located in Apopka, FL and it did not disappoint, despite the lack [...]

This race, second in the Rock/Creek Trail Series, featured 2 distances: 6.5 miles and a 10.2 miles, both with their own list of pluses and minuses. People automatically assume that since I am (primarily) a distance runner, I would sign up for the longer event. Sure, it’s a great distance and a gorgeous course along [...]

I have a history with this race. I first signed up for it in 2007. I’d heard stories, seen pictures, and wanted to get get a piece of the action. ITB soreness (and beating myself up a few weeks earlier at Mountain Mist) caused me to drop down to the marathon distance (still an accomplishment [...]