Lookout! Mountain 50 Mile

I’ve been told the word “pleasant” and “50 miles” don’t belong in the same paragraph… but guys... listen… for real tho… I really did have the most pleasant 50-mile race in Chattanooga a few weekends back.

pic: Lavender Roots

For the past few years our crew has made the trek up to Chattanooga for the Wild Trails Lookout Mountain race weekend. Whether it be the 50 miler or the 18 miler, LM50 always serves as a good excuse to get the guys together for a fun weekend of trails and the typical debauchery. 

Lookout Weekend is kinda like taking a trip to the beach… each time you get a lil smarter with what you bring and where you stay. One of the first years we went up on a Friday night and came back after the race. Bad idea. The following year we rented an Air BnB on top of Lookout. Better idea but the hostest with the mostest was a little off putting when he unexpectedly swung on by to hang out… for an awkward and extended period of time. He did offer us the food in the fridge/freezer… which was nice… except one of the items was a half-eaten Wendy’s Frosty. Yea. Kinda weird… but the view was nice!

This year OJG hit the nail on the head and booked a loft downtown. This bad boy had a ping pong table in the living room!

And in the lobby of the building there was a bar, pool table and poker table. Place was legit. Bode if you’re looking for a cool ass spot for a home base in downtown Chatt.

This year’s race day turned out to have almost perfect conditions. The start of the race justified wearing gloves, but temps stayed comfortable in the low 50s most of the day. I was content and cozy all day with a pair of arm sleeves and a neck buff.

I’d learned from previous Lookout Mtn races that it was best to go out a little fast while on the asphalt to avoid the conga line. I went out fairly hard to distance myself from the pack… and by fairly hard I mean… I jumped ahead of the majority but still watched the lead 50 and 18 milers disappear ahead of me before I even dipped into the single track. My personal goal for the race was to finish in the top 5, but mostly I just wanted a solid race through and through. I had DNF’d the Ransack 50 (aka: Rebecca Mountain 50) in September due to the inability to keep anything in my stomach from mile 18-30 and I really just wanted to cover 50 miles happy and with minimal issues.

Not so fun fact: I’ve only DNF’d twice in my life. Both at Ransack 50. I don’t want to and have sworn I’ll never do that race again… but track record shows that my dumbass will probably sign up again despite KNOWING how bad the heat/humidity will be... 

Ransack 50 DNF #1

pic: Gordon Harvey

As I cruised along the Bluff Trail I was reminded why I enjoy the Chattanooga trail systems so much. The trail hugged the side of the ridge with great views of Lookout Valley below and towering rock facings above. I moved comfortably and easily along the trail.

pic: Lavender Roots

I removed my gloves right before I started the descent down to the Craven’s House aid station (mile 8.2). I stayed observant and relaxed on the descent to avoid any hidden leaf-covered obstacles but got to open up the stride a bit when we hit the gravel road at the base. I was sitting 3^rd as I moved quickly in and out of Craven’s. The next 5 miles were uneventful. I had run this section in previous years, so I knew the section and what it offered. I filled my water bottle as I came through Blue Beaver Aid Station (mile 13) and picked up the pace as I left. I knew the trail would be flat for the next couple of miles and wanted to cover some ground quickly before the slow climb back up to the college. I got caught off guard when I heard someone creeping up quickly from behind. I glanced down at my watch at the 7:30 pace and thought “well damn… this dude must be flying!” I young, chipper collegiate runner (not part of the race) settled in beside me. Since I had pretty much run alone the entire day, I welcomed the company. We chatted for a mile or so before he turned around and headed back. As the trail started to climb, I sort of shut down any thought process and slipped into the rhythmic run/hike trance that Ash has so thoroughly ingrained in my soul. Despite the climb being steady for 2 miles, it felt easy and passed by quickly. As I reached the upper section of the climb, I saw Andrew in his super subtle South Africa shirt a few switch backs ahead of me.

“Don’t you f*ckin’ dare let me pass you Andrew!”

I stuck to my rhythmic trance and eventually caught up to him and we chatted for a bit before I moved ahead of him. I told him I wouldn’t give him a hard time for passing him, but I couldn’t say that OJG and Matty Fierce would do the same.

I came through the start/finish (mile 18) area in 2:32 feeling smooth.

pic: Lavender Roots

“Are you ok? Hahah are you even breathing?”

pic: Lavender Roots

Since I stayed within my limits and wasn’t pushing super hard, it honestly felt like I had just started the race. I quickly refilled my bottle, grabbed a few fig newtons and happily headed back onto the trails.

pic: Lavender Roots

I had never run the 50-mile race route before so was looking forward to seeing some new areas. Before the race Matty Fierce had told me that the section after the aid station was long (9ish miles) and that I should be cautious with my nutrition and water intake. I kept that in the back of my mind as I moved along the easy rolling cross country route. After passing under some power lines, the trail dipped back into the woods. Years and years ago when I came out to crew one of my buddy’s 50 milers, I had run the section from the road to Lula Falls and back just to get some mileage. In my mind, I had figured the aid station was where it was last time (near the actual Falls) so I didn’t pay much attention to the tent set up near the wooden bridge in the distance. When I popped out into the clearing, I heard someone mention something about a cookout, so I assumed the tent set up was simply a part of that. I would soon find out that I was dead ass wrong. I finished off my bottle as I started getting closer to Lula Falls... pretty certain in my thinking that the aid was coming up. I popped out of the single track to find a taped off path (kinda like a finishing chute). I saw this massively beautiful spread of food/drinks/whiskey and thought… now that’s a pretty freakin’ nice aid station right thur! But something seemed off… I quickly noticed there was no way to actually get to the glorious feast. I slowed to a walk…

“This the aid station?”

A few weird looks were cast my way until some dude finally shouted.

“Nah man. But ya need something?”

For a second, I thought he was joking about it not being the aid station… but then it sunk in.

“Thanks, but I’m good.”

I lied and started running again. I was kicking myself for the mistake as I passed by Lula Falls and climbed the rope to the ridge. I allowed myself to be pissed off until I got to the top of the ridge. I utilized OJG’s positive energy transfer to get myself back into a happy frame of mind as I moved along the slight but consistent incline. I finally popped onto a driveway and started the steep descent down to Nickajack Road. I rolled into the Nickajack Trail Head parking lot and linked up with my crew. 

pic: Kyle Stichtenoth

I was excited to see them and thankful the guys stuck around after their own race to crew me! I'm extremely blessed to have these fellas in my life!

  

I gave a fist bump to my buddy Ryne Anderson and a quick pet to his doggo before heading into the woods again towards the Long Branch Aid Station (mile 33ish). I grabbed a couple of grilled cheese squares and chatted to the aid station volunteers briefly before setting out on the 4-mile loop. Everything I’d been told about the loop didn’t have me looking forward to the experience. The loop wasn’t all that difficult, mostly just rolling hills, but the tight turns were frustrating at times. I made good time on the loop and got back to the barn quicker than I thought I would. I scarfed down a small cup of noodles and cheerfully started the trip back to the college.

pic: Lavender Roots

I grabbed a second handheld when I met up with the crew again at Nickajack. I wasn’t about to take the chance of missing the Lula Lake aid station again and go waterless for the final 8-10 miles! At this point of the race I started coming face to face with a lot of the 50 milers heading out towards Nickajack. I saw Pete Shearouse along the road and then AJW near Lula Falls. Both seemed to be in good spirits. As I crossed back over the wooden bridge an aid station worker yelled and asked if I needed anything. Since I had an extra handheld at this point, I just smiled and kindly declined. I could feel myself slowing down around mile 41. I had hit a lull and settled into an a gear I just couldn’t get to shift. I noticed a dude in a red shirt creeping up behind me. I kept him off all the way until the power line where he slid past me. I tried to pick up my pace but just couldn’t get motivated to push any harder. I saw an excited Hump as I crept up the final climb…

“Zeeger! You got this man! He’s just right ahead of you! Get it!”

This genuinely gave me a burst of energy and the push I needed. I opened the stride for a final push, but it was just a lil too late. I had been bested by a whopping 20 seconds. I laughed as I came through the finishing chute… partly because I found it funny that I really did have more energy in the tank but just couldn’t seem to access it to push for a podium finish… but I think it was mostly because of what my friends got the announcer to announce over the loud speaker...

pic: Matty Fierce

All in all, it really was a pleasant day on the trails. I walked away with a 4^th place finish in a time of 8:55.

pic: Matty Fierce

After a few days of muscle soreness and antalgic gait due to a tight medial knee… I hopped back in the mountains the following weekend for the annual post Lookout Weekend trip over to the Walsh’s!

 18 miles of N. Ga mountains with Dayquon!

Lookout Mountain 50 and a relaxing weekend in the mountains was the perfect way to wrap up another good ass year roaming this beautiful planet.

pic: Ash

Cheers to the end of great decade of mountain memories and to the many more yet to be made!

pic: Ash