I had been recovering from multiple injuries that left me without any running or gym time for eight weeks. Thankfully I healed just prior to this race. Since I had been inactive I planned to just walk it because there was a 9 hour time limit and I didn't want to risk re-injury.
That said, had I been running it I likely would not have been running after mile one. The start was in a parking lot and down a gravel road - then up a very long and steep hill. Even walking I was completely winded by the top. I failed to read the course map and didn't realize it was a trail run. After a couple of miles on the road it was into the woods, which thanks to a couple days of rain lead to muddy trails. Because I was walking it wasn't long before the runners were gone and I was in front of other walkers, but most of the time there weren't others around. Just me alone in the woods, hoping there were no bears. The trail was well marked with a green flag every couple hundred feet. Near the end I looked at my phone and it seemed like I was well over the 13 miles, but there was no end in sight, only a few occasional marathoners coming back, and I wondered if I were lost. For the first time in a run I thought about giving up...except I had no idea where I was, how far I had come, how far to go, or where the car was parked...so I continued following the green flags until eventually I found the glorious end.

Waiting at the end was some of the best swag I have received. The shirt I received before the race was beautiful - a long sleeve grey shirt with a nice logo of the run (no sponsor logos). The medal was handmade out of wood, and we also received a raccoon hat! It was very challenging, but the views, the swag, and the support from the race crew was wonderful. A well organized event by the folks at Run Chattanooga.