Lover’s loops
Looking for the perfect Valentine’s date for that special runner in your life? Consider taking him/her on a workout for two on some of Chattanooga’s most scenic trails.Bluff TrailLocated right below Point Park, this trail offers the same spectacular view of the city with the added bonus of dramatic, towering rock ledges.Pot Point LoopThis easy-to-run trail will take couples across a large, natural bridge and open up to an exquisite view of the Tennessee River Gorge.Mullens Cove LoopIf you’re looking for an equally amazing view of the river gorge with a bit more of a lovers’ workout, this soft but technical trail may be just your speed.Chattanooga RiverwalkSimple but classic. Take your date for a light jog along the water to Ross’s Landing, then migrate downtown for coffee or drinks.
A couple poses together at a Cupid's Chase 5k.Kalie Feigenson found love not at a club nor at a bar, but at a race. "I had no intentions of going to meet anyone, let alone find love," the 29-year-old remembers. "It was frigid, and 7:00 in the morning!"
But on that freezing February morning, Feigenson wasn't at just any race; she was at the Cupid's Chase in Princeton, New Jersey.
Each year, runners in more than 30 cities across nine states participate in the pre-Valentine's Day 5k/10k, hosted by national nonprofit Community Options Inc. The event raises money to help provide housing and employment support to people with disabilities while helping single runners make a love connection.
To help spark that connection, each racer is outfitted with a shirt that reads "Available" or "Unavailable" on the back. The method, though simple, is quite effective. Just ask Feigenson.
When she first laid eyes on Marc Chianese, a chiropractor helping runners stretch before and after the race, she was smitten.
"I suddenly felt butterflies in my stomach and thought to myself, 'He is handsome!'" she says.
So she did what any rational woman would do - she avoided him at all costs. But it was too late. The doctor had already seen her "Available" shirt, he had already seen her shy smile, and before Feigenson knew what was happening, he was scribbling his phone number onto the back of his business card and handing it to her.
"From there on, our relationship quickly blossomed. We fell in love, and our connection only grew, and continues to grow," she says.
That's exactly what race organizers at Chattanooga's branch of Community Options hope will happen for more single runners at the local Cupid's Chase Saturday, Feb. 11.
If you're looking for a little bit of love (and exercise) this year, register at comop.org/cupidschase.
Why run together?
» For a stronger bond. Running releases endorphins and other feel-good chemicals that also saturate the brain when you’re in love, and when you run with your partner, you associate that high with being with him or her.» To increase relationship quality. A study published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology in 2000 revealed that couples who engaged in novel, arousing activities together reported greater relationship satisfaction and deeper feelings of love. Some have attributed this to accomplishing a shared goal.» For a better sex life. According to a survey of 1,000 runners by Brooks Running, 66 percent of runners believe they spent more time between the sheets when they ran with their partners, with more miles accounting for better sex.