If You Build It, They Will Run
SideTracked Magazine 2008
by Mark McKnight

Apparently the phrase “If you build it, they will come” applies to trail runners (and hikers) even more than dead baseball players. The number of trail runners is on the rise in Chattanooga, and it’s easy to see why when you do a little research into the trails. As the number and variety of trails have increased over the last few years, trail users have appeared as well. The Rock/Creek StumpJump 50k filled up two months in advance in 2007, with 450 runners participating. Mountain bike races have drawn large numbers of entries as well. A recent trail day at Sunset Rock drew over 50 volunteers for a day of trail repair and erosion control efforts. Sunset, a popular climbing area accessed via the Mountain Beautiful trail on Lookout Mountain, now has a dedicated account held by the National Park Service to collect and distribute donations for such trail days.

“Chattanooga is well on its way to becoming ‘Trail City USA.’ There are more miles of trail coming into and going out of Chattanooga than almost any other place in the country,” explains Randy Whorton, one of the key volunteers at the recent trail day. “With the new trails connecting Lookout Mountain to Cloudland Canyon State Park, as well as more than 350 miles of trail being built across the Cumberland Plateau, you’re talking about access to all the major trail systems. If we can find a way to connect the Cumberland Trail to the Appalachian Trail, that opens up the entire East coast from Chattanooga.” It’s thinking like Whorton’s that has enabled the aggressive plans put forward for trail building.

Who are these people?

In 2007, a group of trail runners, Mr. Whorton and this author included, started a new club, The Wilderness Trail Running Association. “The Boonies,” as we’ve come to call it, is all about running in the middle of nowhere. So what is the best thing about living in Chattanooga? Nowhere comes up on you quickly as you drive outside the city limits. Due in no small part to the silent workings of several influential families over the years, tens of thousands of acres of land have been set aside in trust for future generations. These lands, along with a few choice properties held through public agencies, have become the center of a booming trail community. As users demonstrate their commitment to building and maintaining trails, land owners and the people who control these land trusts have been increasingly open to providing access.

Clearly not all trail users are runners, but as more trails have opened up, the sport of trail running seems to be growing, and more and more runners are hitting the trails.

Where did we get all these trails?

Much of the progress that has been made over the past few years can be attributed to a few highly motivated volunteer groups. The Chattanooga chapter of SORBA (the Southern Off-Road Bicycle Association) started their “Singletrack Mind” initiative in 2004, rallying the community around the goal of creating 100 miles of quality singletrack trails within 10 miles of Chattanooga by 2010. They’re well on their way, with over 20 miles now available on Raccoon Mountain. This TVA property, only a ten minute drive from the middle of downtown, features breathtaking views of the Tennessee River Gorge, known in this area as “Tennessee’s Grand Canyon.”

It takes a little longer to drive there, but the Cumberland Trail begins directly across the river from the TVA property in the Prentice Cooper Wilderness Management Area. This park truly defines “boonies,” as you can easily go there for a full day’s run and not see another person. Prentice Cooper holds such gems as the Pot Point loop and the Mullens Cove Loop. Crazy rock formations with names like Indian Rock House, Mushroom Rock, and Snoopers’ Rock provide plenty of visual interest. The trails’ position following the ridge line of the Cumberland Plateau affords runners a great view of the river along most of the trail, especially during the fall and winter when you can see right through the woods to the water.

There may be an even bigger victory on the horizon for trail runners with the Enterprise South megasite, a government-sponsored industrial park created to try to lure a major manufacturer to Chattanooga. So far the park remains empty, as several auto manufacturers have passed up Chattanooga in favor of other cities. The city and county governments have been busy working on a plan to reinvigorate the park and make it more appealing to potential employers and the people who will eventually live nearby. SORBA, with help and pledges of volunteer hours from Boonies, has convinced the city and county mayors to give careful consideration to IMBA’s (International Mountain Biking Association) trail planning consultants.

The SORBA-Chattanooga leadership believes strongly the park could include significant singletrack trail systems. As a result, they are footing the bill for IMBA’s trail experts to come in and plan the trails. The fee amounts to a quarter of their annual budget, which speaks to their enthusiasm for the project. SORBA is a newly-adopted Southeastern division of IMBA. Serious trail users consider this a major victory because the original plans drawn up by architects had something more akin to Atlanta’s PATH, a paved and predominantly flat “trail” system that would be useless to trail runners and mountain bikers. Instead, if all goes well, there will be another 20 miles or more of singletrack trails crossing varied terrain. This could be the next Raccoon Mountain. In addition, a Nickajack Corridor trail has made it through some early planning stages and will likely add another 50 miles of mountain bike accessible trails. This trail will also link up to the Cumberland Trail.

When pressed on whether the 100 mile goal will be reached by 2010, Trey Commander, SORBA-Chattanooga’s president, says, “I can’t tell you that- it all depends on how many volunteers show up this weekend.”
He stresses the importance of volunteers, explaining these trails only exist because dedicated users have spent untold hours working on building and maintaining them. He admits that, “we’re in the 60-70 mile range.”
But there’s plenty more to come, he says, “It won’t happen by 2010, but we’re looking at over 150 or more miles of mountain-bike accessible trails within 10 years from now.”
In addition, Commander said IMBA has targeted Chattanooga as a model for a trail city, where you come here not to ride a single trail or trail system, but to ride the entire city.

A visitor could easily fill up a two week vacation running the trails around Chattanooga. As more trails open up, so do the opportunities for events. Some events are highly organized, like the Rock/Creek StumpJump 50k, a race I have been involved with over the last few years. Others, such as a recent event involving running and road cycling, dubbed “Big Bird” and “Sick Bird,” are completely underground challenges. Many of these have been dreamt up and planned via email between no more than a handful of friends. Some of these underground events- the Upchuck 50k among them- have made the transition to established races that will be sponsored and supported this year. In fact, the Rock/Creek Race Series alone will consist of nine race dates and 13 distance options this year, making trail running about as well represented as road running in the city. There are also great trail runs in surrounding cities, such as the Mountain Mist 50k in Huntsville, Ala., and the Oak Mountain 50k in Birmingham, Ala. Every day that goes by makes Chattanooga a bit more attractive place to be- or become- a trail runner.