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 [...]

Tonight at 7pm, thousands of cyclists rode in silence at more than 300 events in 22 countries worldwide, to honor those that have been injured or killed while riding on public roadways. We had a great turnout in Chattanooga, both on bikes and those that came outside their home/business to show their respect on the [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

Sunday kicked off the 2010 Rock/Creek Trail Series, with the 2nd annual Southern 6 hosted on the beautiful Biology Trails of Southern Adventist University. The school is located in Collegedale, east of Chattanooga. Not near Lookout, Raccoon or Signal Mtns and not as far as Cherokee, but fear not: those ridges in the hills over [...]

Wendy, Yoli & I checked out the Mullen’s Cove loop today. It’s featured in the upcoming River Gorge race as well as Stumpjump 50k in the fall. With all the recent rain, the dampness made for treacherous rock scrambles (the Blurs had great grip and handled the task like a champ!); however, the creeks were [...]