Chattanooga, TN- Clear skies and the promise of warm temperatures met the 45 marathoners and 147 half marathoners who turned out Saturday morning for the second annual Scenic City Trail Marathon and Half on Raccoon Mountain. The two trail running races, presented by Rock/Creek and Vasque, raised $3300 for The Wilderness Trail Running Association, aka Boonies. Proceeds from both events are used to run trail races, develop new and maintain existing trails in the Chattanooga area.
John Cobbs of Birmingham, Alabama won the event with an impressive time of 3:38:04. Rock/Creek Race Team member Jaclyn Greenhill of Signal Mountain, Tennessee came in less than a minute back to win the women’s division with a time of 3:38:49. Sal Coll of Chattanooga, Tennessee finished second male in 3:44:38 and Eric Ashley of Glenrose, Texas finished 3rd male in 3:50:18. Katie Grove from Smryna, Georgia was second female in 4:33:40 and DeDe DuBose from Chattanooga, Tennessee finished third female in 4:47:29.
In the half marathon, Rock/Creek Race Team members Michael Green and Clay Warner finished first and second. Green, of Rocky Face, Georgia finished first in 1:26:57, and Warner, of Ringgold, Georgia, finished second in 1:26:59. 17-year-old Nick Lewis 1:28:49 of Hanceville, Alabama finished third. Sue Kelly from Atlanta, Georgia, was first female in 1:39:46, Hope Hessler from Lookout Mountain, Tennessee was second with a time of 1:57:32 and Ashley Morris from Johnson City, Tennessee with a 2:02:01 finish was 3rd. Full race results are posted online at https://www.rockcreek.com/trailmarathon/
“We couldn’t have asked for a better day or a better venue for the run,” said race director Jamie Sanders: “Everyone had a great time out there today.” Sanders thanked the many volunteers and sponsors, including Rock/Creek, Vasque Footwear, Mountain Hardwear, SmartWool, Black Diamond, Greenlife Grocery, and Hammer Nutrition.
The course is a scenic and rolling, single-track trail created by SORBA (Southeast Off-Road Bicycle Organization). The trail hugs the perimeter of Raccoon Mountain, a TVA pumped-storage facility and is one of the best trail running and mountain biking locations within 25 minutes of downtown Chattanooga.
The Scenic City Trail Marathon is part of the Rock/Creek Trail Series, a year-long trail running race series with 9 race dates and 13 distance options. The next event in the series is the Chattanooga Mountains Stage Race, taking place on June 20, 21 and 22. For more information on the series, visit https://www.rockcreek.com/trailseries/
The race also was a part of Vasque’s North American Trail Tour. The Lookout Mountain 100k & 10k on December 20th will also be a part of the Tour.
Photography available online:
http://flickr.com/photos/imultisport/sets/72157605234803616/
http://www.flickr.com/photos/rockcreek/sets/72157605331055809/
About Rock/Creek:
Rock/Creek, member of the Grassroots Outdoor Alliance, is an independent specialty outdoor retailer with over two decades of experience in the Southeast. Along with its online shops, RockCreek.com and ClimbingGear.com, Rock/Creek provides quality outdoor clothing and gear for a host of activities including kayaking, rock climbing, camping, hiking, trail running, and adventure racing. Rock/Creek is committed to making a positive impact on the environment. For this reason, it uses outdoor retail as a platform to encourage outdoor recreation and environmental stewardship and to improve public access to the backcountry. Rock/Creek supports worthy nonprofits such as the Southeastern Climbers’ Coalition and the Wilderness Trail Running Association.
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