Think of it like a play that opens so well off Broadway that it is brought to a major stage and made accessible to more.
That's the second annual Women's Trail Running Summit sponsored by The North Face and Rock/Creek. Registration opens today at noon at ultrasignup.com for the Sept. 10-13 event in Chattanooga with 45-50 spots available.
The inaugural summit last year sold out in about half an hour with 35 women representing seven states. And when it was held at Wasson Lodge at Camp Ocoee in Polk County, it was considered a great success.
This year it's being based in the city with a maximum of 32 spots available at the Crash Pad hostel in the Southside and another 15 or so spots for area residents or others who have independent accommodations. The participants will be running trails on Lookout and Signal mountains, and they will get encouragement and expert advice from world-renowned ultra runner Diane Van Deren.
Diane Van DerenThe summit cost is $375 with a private room at the Crash Pad included, $325 with a bunk bed or $250 with no accommodations needed. Meals are included.
Event coordinator Dreama Campbell, a member of the Rock/Creek race team, also was one of the organizers last year -- and a participant.
"I think everyone had a really great time. It was a very productive event, and I would say 75 percent of the people last year will return," Campbell said. "I talked to one girl who was here but is pregnant, and she was bummed out that she would not be able to attend, but she said she's really looking forward to hearing about it.
"I'm even more excited about this one because it will be downtown and will have advantages at night, plus we'll be about 15 minutes from great trail systems on Lookout and Signal and Suck Creek. This one will showcase Chattanooga."
Rock/Creek race director Brian Costilow is another organizer, and he said the summit would include big runs that Friday on Signal and Saturday on Lookout and "maybe a short trail run somewhere in town Sunday."
Van Deren will give clinic sessions and also will speak at a Saturday night dinner open to the public at 2 North Shore. Details about that will be announced later.
Among other distinctions, Van Deren was the 2010 National Geographic Adventurer of the Year, a five-time finisher of the Hardrock 100 and the 2009 winner of the Yukon Arctic 430-miler, and she set a world record in 2012 on North Carolina's 1,000-mile Mountains-to-Sea Trail. She was the subject of an ESPN "Outside the Lines" feature that won a 2011 Sports Emmy award.
Growing up, Van Deren played on boys' baseball teams, rode horses in rodeos and won state titles in golf and tennis, according to a Rock/Creek release about her summit appearance, and she went on to be a collegiate All-American and professional tennis player. She became an ultra runner, though, as a way to combat epileptic seizures that led to a lobectomy in 1997.
"The North Face is kind of our title sponsor, and they approached us with the idea of bringing Diane in, and we said, 'Yes, of course!'" Costilow said. "She brings a lot of experience -- life experience and trail-running experience -- and she's been a coach as well as a competitive runner."
Said Campbell: "I think with Diane coming, she brings a whole new element to the summit. I have not met her, but I've read about her and I'm really looking forward to having her here. For the women taking part to hear a pro woman runner and the struggles she's been through and positive aspects trail running brings to her life, it's going to be fabulous."
Contact Ron Bush at rbush@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6291.