Chattanooga, TN
Race Team member, Deb Jones, Dominates for First Women's Overall at the River Gorge 6.5 Mile Race
The Rock Creek River Gorge 6.5 mile race was at its best this past Saturday. A crisp sunny morning was made even nicer by the fact that the course had dried out a good bit from the rain we got on Thursday. This was vastly different from last year’s rain, wind, and severe thunderstorm warnings, so it already felt like it was going to be a better run. I wore my 200 weight Icebreaker top under a Patagonia Cap 1 shirt with the Patagonia Multi-use Skirt and Salomon XT Wings. Though it was a little chilly starting out, I was comfortable throughout the race. I got to run the course earlier in the week before the race with fellow race team member Cathi Canon, so I had a much better sense of how long different sections of the race would take and what challenges to expect. That helped make the race more mentally comfortable because many times I don’t have a complete sense of where I’m at in a course. This time I knew what was coming, and what was coming was no joke.At about the fourth mile runners come to a very long, hilly jeep road that seems to go on forever. Cathi and I had counted hills and tried to mentally prepare for this section which was really helpful, but I still started that race morning a little frazzled. No matter how many races I do this never seems to change, but in a way, I feel it helps me to get the adrenaline going. I can hardly imagine starting a race without a few nerves popping around in my stomach, but the goal is to not let it get the best of me because it really starts to sap the much-needed energy supplies. I was just praying and trying to chill out and thankfully by the time the race got going, I settled down.
It ended up being an awesome race, which was a total blessing. Sometimes it all comes together and other times there are just a lot of challenges that make the race miserable until it’s over. This year, I was really able to stay more focused while still enjoying the beauty of Prentice Cooper (one of my favorite running spots). I had forgotten my watch in the car so I was forced to relax about time and just run by feel which ended up being good. Though I actually fell down TWICE during the race, I was able to bounce back up and not get discouraged (or seriously injured…). My objective this year was to better my time from last year and ideally go under an hour. I beat my time from last year by almost 2 minutes with a finish of 1:00:41, but didn’t quite break the hour. Still, it was a really fun race and I can’t wait to come back next year!
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