Temperatures are getting a smidge cooler, which is great, and the running schedule is heating back up for autumn with some old favorites and new events.
One of the biggest events is the annual Rocketman Triathalon, set for this Sunday at Ditto Landing in south Huntsville. Participants will swim 1,500 meters, bike 25 miles and run 10 kilometers. That’s a little more than nine-tenths of a mile for the swim and 6.2 miles for the run. It’s a solid event thanks to the efforts of the Team Rocket Tri-Club.
Here are some other events coming up in the next few months that may be of interest. Info is from the race directors or sites. We’ll update with more as we hear of them. Be sure to check out our TVO Calendar, too, for events and information.
Sept. 3 — The area’s first organized 100-mile event is the Great Blue Heron Hundred, set to start in Mooresville and wind through the Wheeler National Wildlife Refuge gravel roads. It will have a 100-mile event (5 laps on the 20-mile route), 100K and 100K relay, 100-mile relay, and a 20-mile fun run. It’s on Labor Day weekend so sign up, come run and then enjoy the long weekend.
Sept. 11 — Running Lane Events Boston or Bust at Ditto Landing, a last-chance qualifer for the Boston Marathon. Also included will be a half-marathon and 5K, all on the Aldridge Creek Greenway and Ditto Landing in south Huntsville. This should be an interesting event with a handful of speedgoats vying for qualifying times to make it to Beantown.
Sept 22 – Since 1981, the annual Autumn Chase Fun Run has been a 1-mile fun run promoting healthy habits in our community’s youth through running with a local philanthropic impact. This is a free event, at John Hunt Park in Huntsville. All preschool, elementary and middle (PreK-8th) school age children are welcome. School faculty are also welcome to participate, and are encouraged to promote this event through your school and get all children engaged. The event is put on by the Huntsville Delta Zeta Alumnae Chapter and Huntsville Track Club. Proceeds from sponsorships and donations go to benefit Huntsville Hospital’s Pediatric Audiology Unit.
Sept. 24 — Want a really cool challenge along with some bragging rights among your buddies? Beat the 91-minute, 12-second orbit of the space station during the Racin’ the Station Duathlon on Redstone Arsenal. Participants will run 1.95 miles, ride 14.3 miles and run 1.95 miles again. I love everything about this. The space station circles the earth every 91 minutes (and 12 seconds!), so you know the time to beat. The route at RSA will be flat, for the most part, with some gentle inclines. You can run and ride like a demon. No worries about psycho drivers or coal-rollin’ WillieBob being a dumbass. Because it is on Redstone Arsenal, there are special access considerations and registration deadline. Read carefully and pay attention to these.
Sept. 24 — The Run to Build a School 5K is a trail run with obstacles but nothing onerous. you won’t be climbing 25-foot pyramids or scaling flaming walls in a pit of mud. these are fun ones, but still offering a challenge. Consider it a TeenySpartan. It could whet your appetite for more. It will be held at GoFar USA Park to help fund the building of the Shree Bhawani Basic School in the most remote region in Nepal, Humla. Organizers are attempting to raise $20,000 to help build a solid, self-insulated school building with electricity, library and classrooms with improved toilets, water supply and sanitation facilities.
Sept. 25 — Running in a cave? Yep, the annual Conquer the Cave 5K is a doozy, with some hilly terrain that makes you question your registration before you finish in Cathedral Caverns. It’s a gorgeous, fun, well-run event that attracts runners from throughout the Southeast. And consider it a warmup for the Cavern 15K and 5K trail run in November.
Oct. 1 — The 8th annual Secret Meals 5K will be held on the UAH campus in Huntsville to raise money for the Secret Meals For Hungry Children program. This is a super program that helps provide weekend food packs for children in need. If you’re looking for an event that helps others, and not just some organization’s bottom line, this is one to consider. Registration is just $35, or you can be a supporter for $25 (or other amount). The course at UAH is a nifty little challenge, too, for a 5K. Definitely consider signing up for this one. If you are interested in sponsoring this event, email SecretMeals@AlabamaCU.Com
Oct. 15 — The 19th Liz Hurley Ribbon Run 5K and Survivors’ Walk will turn downtown Huntsville into a beautiful swath of pink. The walk begins at 8 a.m. and the 5K at 8:30 a.m., both at Huntsville Junior High School off of California Street. Sign up by Sept. 1 to get the early-bird rate. Proceeds will help the Huntsville Hospital Foundation to provide for the top-priority needs of Huntsville Hospital for Women & Children’s Breast Center, including necessary Dense Breast Software upgrades to better pinpoint which patients need additional levels of cancer screening for accurate diagnosis. With donor support, HHF will also launch the brand-new Breast Cancer Patient Experience Project, focused on improving each patient’s comfort and surroundings while in the Breast Center. The goal of these enhancements is to reduce the anxiety and fear that sometimes accompany these procedures.
Oct. 30 — The Oak Park Challenge 7-mile trail run in Huntsville is one of my favorite events, with trails that aren’t insanely rocky-rooty but offer a solid challenge. Even better, you get to giddyup to the tip of Monte Sano and come back down. Runners start at the Oak Park ballfields and jump into the woods for a climb to the top of Monte Sano. Yes, you go to the top. You’ll be on Land Trust property, then hit the closed portion of Bankhead, then back down down down to the park. Solid, fun event. Good trails. A bit slickery-muddy if it rains, but so be it.
Knoxville Running Schedule
Lot of events going on in September, October and November in K’ville on the road and trail for everyone from 5K dashers to trail humpers.
— the Big South Fork Trail Race is a 17.5-mile out-back in some gorgeous terrain in mid-September in the Big South Fork National River and Recreation Area.
— Ridge Runner 5K at Big Ridge State Park sounds like a nice event, and state parks are cool.
— Whooooeeee, this sounds like a good one: the Norris Ultra DAM HARD Trail Race. Lace up and get with it!
— If you’re into chillier fun in December, the Dirty South Trail Races might be up your alley in Knoxville.
The Knoxville Track Club has a solid history, good community and nice lineup of events this autumn.
Chattanooga Running Schedule
Here’s something cool going on in Chattangooga with its track club: Elementary Cross-Country Meets. What a fun way to get youngsters outdoors, involved in possibly a new sport, and to introduce them to cross-country if they don’t already know about it. Plus, it gets the name of the track club in front of them at a young age. Smart!
— The 18th annual Moccasin Bend Fall Classic is billed as the “flattest, fastest 10K around” and in Chattanooga, finding flat ground is saying something. A 5K also is offered in this “no frills” event, meaning no t-shirts or swag. Sign up, help a good cause and go run. You don’t need another t-shirt or clangy medal anyway, and you know it. The course is distance-certified and timed, though, so if you’re looking for a PR or something, no probs there. The out-and-back course begins and ends on the campus of the Moccasin Bend Mental Health Institute. Race proceeds benefit the Johnson Mental Health Center’s PATH program, which provides needed mental health assistance to homeless individuals.
— The 7 Bridges Marathon (and other events!) is back on Oct. 16, and the Chickamauga Battlefield Marathon returns on Nov. 16. The latter should be quite scenic if we get any autumn leaves changing at that time, plus it’s a run through a part of our country’s history.
—Who doesn’t love pie? I know some of you don’t but that’s OK. Pie is a big deal at the annual Signal Mountain 10K Pie Run, which has two “significant” hills and pie waiting for you at the finish line. Sweet!
Cleveland Running Schedule
Nestled in tiny Cleveland, a lovely town amid some super outdoors fun in southeast Tennessee, is the Terra Running Company. It has a nice calendar of events in Cleveland including a few that sound like fun.
— The Cleveland Half Marathon winds and wiggles through downtown as well as the campus of Lee University and some of the city’s greenway system. It begins and ends downtown. Runners have a 5K option, too.
— Get jiggy in your favorite costume for the Ghosts and Goals 5K on Oct. 22 at the Chattanooga Riverwalk.
Decatur Running Schedule
The River City Runners in Decatur has only a handful of events on its schedule for autumn, including one in Tuscumbia.
One of the most popular is the Mountain Mania 15K, in which runners will scamper around Burningtree Mountain. This event returns after a couple of years and includes a 5K and 1-mile fun run.
Florence Running Schedule
If you’re looking for a long run in October, the UCP Life Without Limits half marathon and 5K is set for Oct. 29 in Florence. Along with giving you a bit of a workout thanks to the city’s rolling terrain, you’ll get to chill out after the event in one of the state’s hippest cities. Be sure to get some hot dogs and ribs from Bunyan’s, or you can tidy up a bit and go downtown for other fare.
