The thick blanket of leaves covering the precarious rocky terrain – and its ankle-sabotaging nooks and crannies – made just walking the trail to Sunset Rock a challenge. Never mind running it.
Trail running is so much healthier for you,” says Randy Whorton, a runner turned longtime trail runner and director of Wild Trails, a local nonprofit dedicated to promoting the use, expansion and protection of trails in the Greater Chattanooga area. “On trails, everything is different. You’re using so many different muscle groups; you build stronger knees and joints. There’s so much more upper body with trail running as well.”
Whenever I think of trail running, it isn’t the pleasant “SNAP!” of breaking sticks on a crisp fall day that I hear, but that of my ankles.
“You will fall and you will twist your ankle, those are just the common things,” Whorton admits. “But it’s so rare that a fall actually leads to any kind of significant problems. I would highly recommend that people never run on roads, period – you’re just asking for injury. A lot of people I grew up with running don’t run anymore because they stayed on roads and wound up having knee, hip, ankle or back problems. When you think about it, it really makes sense; I think trail running is so much more natural for us.”
Being surrounded by nature is another of the sport’s benefits. Lucky for us in the Scenic City, there are hundreds of miles of trails within a short drive of downtown. “We have amazing resources here that most people aren’t aware of – Chattanooga is probably the best trail city in the world perhaps,” says Whorton, giving a “conservative” estimate that 56 trailheads are located within 30 minutes of downtown. His hometown of Boulder, Colo., prized for its outdoor opportunities, has maybe only 20, he notes.