Notable competitors
Bob Adams, Ooltewah resident and winner of March’s inaugural Chattanooga MarathonDaniel Hamilton, Chattanooga resident and winner of December’s Lookout Mountain 50 milerPatrick Reagan, Savannah, Ga., resident and second-place finisher in April’s 100K national championship raceHunter Hall, Nashville resident and former Bryan College runner who finished 11th at November’s Indianapolis Monumental Marathon (2:33:04)
A recent competitor in the U.S. Olympic Trials who is one of the fastest 100K runners in American history is among those putting their legs to the test in this weekend's 10th Chattanooga Mountains Stage Race.
The three-day race, consisting of runs 18-22 miles long on Raccoon, Lookout and Signal Mountains, is attracting a talented field that also includes the race's all-time record holder, Chattanooga Marathon champion Bob Adams of Ooltewah and other local speedsters such as Daniel Hamilton.
"It's going to be one of the most stacked fields that Chattanooga has ever seen," Hamilton said.
Stage races are common in Europe but rare in the United States, especially in the Southeast, due to a number of logistical challenges that come with using multiple race courses over the span of one race weekend.
Nonetheless, the Chattanooga Mountains Stage Race is celebrating a decade this year thanks to the area's diverse trail offerings and the work of Wild Trails, the local nonprofit organization directed by Randy Whorton that organizes the race and many of the others that have helped the Chattanooga area become a trail running hot spot.
"I think Chattanooga has definitely become a destination for trail running, for sure and for a number of reasons," said Adam Chase, a Colorado-based runner and journalist covering the sport who has experience running in events here. "It's worthy. You have the hills and the trails, but you also have the running shops to support it, and Randy is a great race director.
"You also have enough people who know what a good race is and what a good race should be. That's a good combination, I would say."
Hamilton, winner of the Lookout Mountain 50 Miler in December, helped recruit some of the race's top runners to the field, including his coach Patrick Reagan, who finished 33rd of 108 competitors in February's U.S. Olympic Trials for the marathon. Reagan also placed second in April's 100K national championship race in Wisconsin.
Other notable participants this weekend include Hunter Hall of Nashville and the race's all-time record holder David Kilgore of Palm Bay, Fla.
Kilgore finished the race in 6:42:56 in 2014, becoming the fourth runner in the race's history to finish in under seven hours.
The winner of Virginia's Grayson Highlands half marathon, Amber Reece-Young, of Asheville, N.C., is among a strong contingent of female competitors from around the country, including runners from Iowa City and Seattle.
Whorton said he is expecting about 150 runners total for the stage race, which provides a unique atmosphere. Because of its three-day format and relatively short distances each day, runners spend a lot of time together, on and off the race course. The Crash Pad, an outdoor-centric hotel in the Southside, serves as home for many of the out-of-town runners and as a gathering place each night of the race.
"You really get to meet lifelong friends," Whorton said. "It's a lot more of a social thing than any other type of running race would be."
Hamilton said stage races attract runners who specialize in a variety of distances. Recovering after the first two runs is key as competitors try and remain strong entering the race's final stage, Sunday's 20-mile foray on Signal Mountain, which follows Friday's 18-mile run on Raccoon Mountain and Saturday's 22-mile run on Lookout Mountain.
"You'll get guys who are road marathoners trying to do their first trail race, fast guys, and guys pushing themselves from all distances," Hamilton said. "Because it's under a marathon each day, they'll go faster each day than they normally would if it was a distance they weren't sure they could finish."
But by the third day, Hamilton said, your legs feel the same as they would if you were running a longer distance all in one day.
"Because the distances are over 10 miles but under a marathon, you get this crazy compromise between recovery and speed," he said. "So the fact that the distances are actually a little shorter each day makes it even harder."
Contact staff writer David Cobb at dcobb@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6249.