Race Report - 2022 Lookout Mountain 50 Miler

Check out the full race video on my YouTube channel here. December was just around the corner and both my better half and I though we had time for one more trail race in 2022, so we signed up for the Lookout Mountain 19 Miler and 50 Miler, respectively. It had been 5 years since I last ran this event and just like back then, I was once again severely underprepared or at least I felt undertrained as I hadn't done much training since running the Fall Creek 100 Miler 4 weeks earlier.

So later Friday afternoon, we jumped into our camper van and headed to Chattanooga, Tennessee to try to still make packet pickup at the local FleetFeet and visit our favorite vegan joint before headed back out of town to the Cloudland Canyon State Park campground, which is just a short 20 minute drive from the race start and finish area at Covenant College atop Lookout Mountain.

Both races would start at 7:L30AM the next morning, so we actually got to "sleep in" a little before heading to the race start. I had zero expectations other than experiencing this beautiful course once again. I had faint memories of some amazing bluff line trail running as well as lots of creeks and a massive waterfall, so it should be a good day regardless of my performance. As expected, the day turned out to be much longer than desirable, but I was fine with that. As it turned out, I was at the frontend of another COVID infection, which explained my inability to move better.

We arrived at the staging area for the race with plenty of time to finalize our running kit setup. Temperatures were near or below freezing with the highs predicted in the 40s, so I chose to go with two layers, a long sleeve tech top plus my favorite Patagonia Houdini windbreaker. I kept on a pair of gloves with hand warmers for the entire day. It never really wanted up enough for me to shed any layers, especially since I wasn't moving particularly fast.

The race started on time and we were off. I settled into a pace that felt comfortable. However, what started out as comfortable pace would turn into an unsustainable pace later on. Aid stations were close enough and temperatures were cold, so I only needed to carry on bottle in my UltrAspire Legacy 2.0 vest. I put an empty spare bottle into the back of my pack, just in case. I also carried my preferred waist light Lumen 600 3.0 along with a small headlamp. For nutrition, I stuffed 10 Spring Energy gels (Canaberry, Koffee and Awesomesause) into my pack along with various endurance fuel drink mixes for added calories. 

Both my gear and nutrition choices worked out well. As expected, the first 19 mile of the race were absolutely spectacular. I spent a lot of time with my GoPro in hand. The 19 milers and 40 milers start at the same time and run the first 19 miles together. While the 19 milers finished at the same start/finish area, we would refuel and continue on now heading in the other direction on the mountain. 

Shortly after leaving the start./finish area around mile 21 I started to bonk or at least it felt like a bonk. I'm no longer certain that I was struggling due to being undertrained, but rather hampered by another COVID infection that became full blown a day after the race. No matter, I was out here now and I was not going to collect another DNF in 2022. 

From this point forward, my day mostly consisted of trying to keep moving and getting fuel to maintain some kind of progress. I started to cramp, so I doubled up on some salt, which I had avoided until now. Eventually, the leg cramps subsided, either because of the salt or to my slower pace. I continued to take in the scenery to keep my motivation high. There was a lot of moaning, but there were no thoughts of quitting. There are always lessons to be learned in an ultra and today was no different.

I continued to work my way from aid station to aid station, continually being passed by fellow runners who were having a better day than me:-) When I finally reached the last aid station, I received another gut punch. My mileage math had been way off for some reason, so when I expected to just have a short 3 miles to the finish the aid station crew informed me that I had closer to 8 miles left to go. It took the better part of 30 minutes out on the trail for me to accept it and move on. 

After twelve and a half hours in the woods, I finally spotted one lights ahead and was thankful to realize that it was indeed the finish line with my wife patiently waiting for me to finish. I immediately started shivering pretty violently and after picking up my finisher swag (sweatshirt and pint glass) headed back to the van for some warmth and food.

If you've never run this race, do yourself a favor and put it on your calendar. It is a bit more challenging than the elevation profile suggests, so just be ready. You won't regret the views afforded to runners during this southeastern classic. Thanks to Randy and Kris from Wild Trails for putting on an amazing event.

Race Report - 2017 Lookout Mountain 50 Mile

One of the most scenic spots along the race course.

 This race report could be called "A fun 50 miler with friends to finish out the year" or "The things you will do to get a Yeti jacket". I added this race to my 2017 calendar pretty late in the year. I had planned to take a full 4 weeks of from running after finishing the Everest Trail Race (which I did), but was still talked into signing up for the Lookout 50 Miler just 2 weeks after that extended off season break, which meant that I would toe the line completely undertrained or as we like to say, well rested or tapered.

Lookout Mountain 50 was new to me, so I was able to stay true to my new mantra of trying to sign up for races I hadn't run before. Paul Morris, Jerry Abbot, David Holiday are guys I often train and race with and since all of us had already completed our goal events for the year, we all took this one on as a social race to have fun and hang out in the woods together. I had only run a couple of times since my extended break, so I knew I would struggle with the distance.

Paul and I travelled to Chattanooga, TN together kate Friday afternoon just in time to ake it to the race packet pickup at FleetFeet Sports to get our bibs along with a couple of pints of complimentary IPA before we'd head over to our hotel and a pre-race carb meal at Mellow Mushroom.

Pre-race hydrating and carb loading...all in one single step:-)

I ordered the vegan calzone and washed it down with a couple of local pilsners before Paul and I headed back to our hotel to get our race kits ready. 5:30AM would arrive early and the forecast called for seriously cold weather, so I laid out way more clothes than usual, especially considering that I would not actually "race".

We all arrived at the race start atop Lookout Mountain at Covenant College with about 30 minutes to spare. We decided to huddle inside our car until it was nearly time to start the race. I had a bout 5 minutes to look for and say hallo to familiar faces and friends at the race start before the four of us lined up pretty much in the very back of the field.

The race started very slowly, but before we knew it we were in the middle of a long train of runners shuffling down Lookout Mountain on single track trail. Just as well, I was racing and I knew I'd struggle late in the race, so I might as well take it easy early on. We continued our shuffle down the trail, chatting about races that had been and races we were signing up for in 2018.

Slight stomach discomfort had me looking forward to mile 20, where I knew a line of porta potties would be waiting. Thankfully, we (I) made it to mile 20 without incident. Mile 20 had us back at the start/finish area, where the 20 mile runners (and 50 milers a bit later in the day) would finish the race. We continued on to start the 30 mile out and back/loop and part 2 of the race. I was actually feeling extremely well at this point. Unfortunately, that changed as quickly as I had that thought.

By mile 26, I had started to struggle. Right hip issues turned into knee issues turned into achilles issues. Mentally, I was doing great, but my long break from running ad finally caught up to me. Thankfully, I was in great company as Paul and I continued to stick together for the entire duration of the race with David having had to drop at mile 20 due to sinus infection and Jerry slightly ahead and Jeff slightly behind us. For the most part, Paul was either pulling on pushing my ass along the course and that certainly helped a great deal. Then again, there was no way I wasn't going to get to that finish line. My biggest issues continued to be the colder than usual temps. It never did warm up during the day or at least not much.

Every aid station was a welcome sight and they were staffed by amazing volunteers and with fantastic foods. A couple of shots of Fireball and Whiskey during the race ensured that I would not take the race too seriously. After a long long day, Paul and I finally heard the welcome sound of the finish line. It had turned dark a couple of hours earlier, but the finish area was lit up with strings of lights, guiding our way.

Before I knew it we were back in Pauls car and headed back home. I am glad I was able to run this race with a bunch of friends and without the self-imposed pressure of racing. I was rewarded with fun conversations on the trail plus a race t-shirt, a finisher's medal and a nice half zip sweater.

Thanks to Wild Trails, Randy and Kris Whorton and all of their awesome volunteers for putting on a high quality event. The course was well marked and the aid stations well stocked. I can highly recommend this event. While it has 8000ft of vert, it is still a very runnable event which would be enjoyable for both first timers and experienced ultra racers.

Glad to get this one done to close out a year of amazing adventures with friends, both old and new!