Somewhere between Mile 8 and Mile 9 of the Mullens Cove Loop, while hunkered down along the rockiest part of the trail taking photos, I encountered a father and son running together. As they splashed past, the elder of the two looked my way, a smile spreading across his face, and said: “Nice day for a run, isn’t it?” You know, I think he was right.
So it went, at the 11th annual Rock/Creek River Gorge trail race, with 283 race finishers grinning ear-to-ear and dashing through the sloppy, wet mess. Presented by Montrail, this is the second race in the 2011 Rock/Creek Race Series, from which all proceeds go to local non-profits 
for trail building & trail maintenance in the Chattanooga area. Mother nature threw us a curve ball this time; we awoke to early-morning thunderclaps, and were greeted by a race day that couldn’t have felt further from last weekend’s 80-degree temperatures!
Luckily, trail runners seem to love adversity, and everyone appeared to have a great time. They say March comes in like a lion and goes out like a lamb, but there sure wasn’t anything lamb-like about this spring day! Congratulations to overall race winner Aaron Saft, from Mills River, NC, who crushed the old course record (set in 2002) by a solid two minutes and led this one wire-to-wire.
Here are the podium finishers for each category:
10.2 Men’s Overall
- Aaron Saft (Mills River, NC), 1:08:31
- Jacob Bradley (Ringgold, GA), 1:10:08
- Theodore Towse (Nashville, TN), 1:14:19
10.2 Men’s Masters (over 40)
- Jay Curwen (Asheville, NC), 1:20:08
- David Workman (Hendersonville, NC), 1:20:29
- Jamie Cook (Bryson City, NC), 1:20:50
10.2 Women’s Overall
- Elizabeth Callaway (Watkinsville, GA), 1:31:11
- Paige Witherington (Palmetto, GA), 1:34:23
- Heather Williams (Chattanooga, TN), 1:38:04.9
10.2 Women’s Masters (over 40)
- Enid Gonzalez (Kennesaw, GA), 1:47:19
- Theresa Saupe (Murfreesboro, TN), 1:48:34
- Rachel Neidich (Rising Fawn, GA), 1:49:52
10.2 Men’s 18 & Under
- Zachary McCormick (Chattanooga, TN), 1:28:26
- Patrick Zdunek (Ooltewah, TN), 1:31:04
- Nick Gooden, 1:37:28
6.5 Men’s Overall
- Owen Bradley (Birmingham, AL), 49:56
- Tyler Wike (Bryson City, NC), 52:21
- Chris Heberer (Hixson, TN), 52:35
6.5 Men’s Masters (over 40)
- Jim Farmer (Chattanooga, TN), 53:25
- Mark Mason (Chattanooga, TN), 59:02
- Paul Handley (Nashville, TN), 1:12:19
6.5 Men’s 18 & Under
- Alex Cook (Bryson City, NC), 57:13
6.5 Women’s Overall
- Sarah Woerner (Dunlap, TN), 58:18
- Jenny Smith (Sweetwater, TN), 1:01:22
- Cathi Cannon (Chattanooga, TN), 1:06:05
6.5 Women’s Masters (over 40)
- Shazzmarie Szekely (Jamestown, TN), 1:22:29
- Jennifer Boll (Jellico, TN), 1:23:04
- Susan Williams (Chattanooga, TN), 1:25:19
6.5 Women’s 18 & Under
- Laura Harbin (Murfreesboro, TN), 1:47:18
UPDATE: Here are full results for the 10.2-mile and 6.5-mile races.
Rock/Creek Race Team members Sarah Woerner and Owen Bradley turned in convincing wins in the 6.5-mile race, with fellow team members Cathi Cannon & Jim Farmer also among the top finishers. Check back here during the week for race reports and photos.
The next race in the Rock/Creek Race Series is the Scenic City Trail Marathon / Half Marathon. Special thanks to all of our sponsors!
Deborah Anziano says
Today was my first official trail race….it was a BLAST!!! Thank you to all who made it happen!!!!!!
Aaron Saft says
Great race Rock Creek! We had a blast. The course was amazing! Thank you!
-Aaron Saft
Team Inov-8
Hunter Schimpff says
I did not see my name on the final results for the 10.2 mile race. My bib number was 186 I believe.
Jeff Bartlett says
@Deborah, that’s awesome! Hope to see you again later this year.
@Aaron, if this was your first time running the River Gorge race, it’s not usually that wet! Congrats on the record-setting pace.
@Hunter, I will check into that for you.
Phillip Langston says
This was my third Rock Creek event and my first at the River Gorge and it was a blast. However I ran the 6.5 mile and I am not showing up on the result sheet. My bib number was 321. Thanks.
Jeff Bartlett says
@Phillip, thanks for letting us know — I’ve forwarded this information to the folks who did our race results and we’ll get to the bottom of it. Obviously, all of the finishers should be on there!
@Hunter, your name is on the list now. Sorry for the delay!