Tennessee Trip - Chickamauga Run

Even on a holiday weekend vacation there is no escape from the half-marathon training plan. I needed to do an eleven mile run while we were in Chattanooga. So, before our trip I Googled the Chattanooga Running Club and found that a marathon had just been held at the Chickamauga Battlefield nearby. Then I found the blog, Georgia Runs, and was assured by Brian's description that it would be a great place to run.


After our Rock City/Ruby Falls adventure we drove to the park and asked at the visitor center for maps and distances and found there are numerous possibilities for running and hiking. The park is full of trails and narrow roads, including a well-marked tour of the battlefield monuments and features. The tour is about 7 miles, so we used the truckster's odometer to measure along the route and continued another 4 on our own. It worked splendidly. Wifeunit had her map with my water stops marked and approximate times and distances.






Early the next morning the weather was great - 35 degrees and clear - and I started my run. Wifeunit listened to a book on the car CD player and drove off through the park, lying in ambush to snap pictures of me and the other creatures. The deer in the park are remarkably tame, surely aware of their relative safety from hunters. We sometimes saw herds of 20 or more in the open areas of the park, grazing calmly like cattle on a farm.

I found this to be my most satisfying run so far. There was almost no traffic to deal with, while the curves of the roads, the deer and historic monuments took my mind off the work of running. I don't use an Ipod, so any distraction from the grind is great. The park has only one bothersome short steep climb, a beautiful spot known as Snodgrass Hill, but the rest of the road is mostly flat and easy.

After the run we retreated to the hotel, ate a quick lunch and took nice nap. The remainder of the day we spent at the Chattanooga Aquariums. That night we ate at a fabulous restaurant near the hotel called Niko's Southside Grill. If you're staying in downtown Chattanooga, give it a try.