Finish off your year the right way, the best way, with a great run. Beautiful trails on the scenic and historic Lookout Mountain make the Lookout Mountain 50 miler, 18 miler & 10K a great event for all. With a start and finish at Covenant College on Lookout Mountain, GA …
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Finish off your year the right way, the best way, with a great run. Beautiful trails on the scenic and historic Lookout Mountain make the Lookout Mountain 50 miler, 18 miler & 10K a great event for all. With a start and finish at Covenant College on Lookout Mountain, GA and a beautifully challenging course that will take you through the Chattanooga Nature Center, Arboretum, and Lula Lake Land Trust, this is clearly one of the best races in the Southeast each year. The 10K is fun for everyone, especially younger runners just coming off of their cross country seasons!
The Lookout Mountain trail races begin high atop the mountain at the spectacular Covenant College campus. The course offers a variety of challenging climbs, highly runnable sections and moderate descents on predominantly single track trails. The 50 and 18 mile races travel together until the end of the 18 and other than a mile or so at the beginning to thin the field out, there are no roads. Runners traverse beautifully diverse ecosystems in the scenic and historic Chattanooga National Military Park, the first national military park in the country and passes directly above Craven’s House and the Battle Above the Clouds, one of the most decisive battle sites in the Civil War. The course continues on spectacular trails along Lookout Creek to the bottom of the only significant climb of the day. Ending the race for the 18 milers back at Covenant College.
The 50 mile runners continue to navigate two exposed bluff lines with fantastic views. On one section of trail, it is possible to see 5 states on a clear day. Runners will follow or cross no less than 5 different creeks leading the runners to Lula Lake Land Trust that winds through rhododendron, mixed hardwood, and Hemlock forests and the towering 120′ Lula Falls. Great aid stations with hot soup, a dose of Southern hospitality and camp fires at night. The 10K has become one of the most challenging 10K courses in the region and for good reason. The first couple miles are flat and fast on the college cross country trails and then the speed slows down and the course turns to narrow and beautiful trails along two separate creeks with a couple steep climbs. There are no cutoff times on this race, so if you are new to trails this is a good one to hike and regardless what pace, this one will challenge you.
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This is a beast
I’ll start off by confessing I underestimated this race, a bad idea for any ultra, but especially this one. I chose the Lookout Mountain 50 because of its scenery and … MORE
I’ll start off by confessing I underestimated this race, a bad idea for any ultra, but especially this one.
I chose the Lookout Mountain 50 because of its scenery and historical links (Civil War), and because the elevation profile intrigued me. It appeared that the toughest part would be the front 18-mile loop, where you basically go down the mountain and right back up. The back 32 looked tame by comparison. (Spoiler alert: it is definitely not.)
I’d just done an ultra in Colorado, at altitude, with the same elevation gain in just 55K, and done just fine. And the 13:38 cutoff time is tighter than most, but I didn’t anticipate any trouble with it. Well, folks, I scraped my sorry ass across the finish line with less than five minutes to spare. My feelings are somewhat assuaged by being the oldest finisher this year, and one of only six finishers over 60 in the last five years. Did I mention this is a tough race?
Here are some tactical and non-technical observations and ratings.
Course: Be prepared for a lot of steep drops and climbs, including a rope section, and several slippery creek crossings. And despite the race staff’s heroic efforts in blowing leaves off the trail, there are enough hidden rocks and roots to make Baryshnikov face-plant. And be forewarned: the map shows 48+ miles, but the course was changed to nearly 52. Many of us found out at the final aid station. 44 miles is a tough place to get bad news.
Marking: I’d call it adequate, with few “confidence” flags. A couple of times I had to guess direction (correctly, whew) and nearly missed a couple of turns. Luckily for me, another runner was nearby both times and showed me the correct route.
Views: Terrific, from sweeping vistas to waterfalls, interesting rock formations, and Civil War monuments. It’s a good thing my phone camera crapped out, because I didn’t have time for selfies anyway. But I did enjoy the sights in passing.
Race production: Good pre-race communication. Aid stations don’t have quite as much variety as other ultras I’ve run, but the keys – fruit, soda, salty stuff, broth – were all there. Plus campfires after dark. Not much at the finish line, though. And I have to take a point away for the course change without notice. A small thing in an otherwise very well run event.
Swag: in addition to a T-shirt I got a finisher’s sweatshirt (no medal, which is fine), and a “vintage” plastic race cup from 2014. Awards are limited to top three overall and first in age group. They’re custom-made and I haven’t got mine yet, but that’s okay. Finishing was reward enough.
Bottom line: I recommend the Lookout Mountain 50 for those looking for a new challenge. Train well, you’ll need everything you got.
The hardest race I've run
Beautiful and challenging race!! The first 18 miles are on Lookout Mountain, you run on amazing trails that were built as WPA projects in the depression. Gorgeous views of the … MORE
Beautiful and challenging race!! The first 18 miles are on Lookout Mountain, you run on amazing trails that were built as WPA projects in the depression. Gorgeous views of the valleys around you. The last 32 miles take you in the Lula Lake Land Preserve – these trails are a mix of very technical (even some rock scrambling), some runnable, and some fire road. The 2021 race was made much, much more difficult by rain and mud ( SO MUCH MUD).
This race has a cult following in the area. And the RDs put on a really great race. The volunteers are top notch! and it’s really well marked, and super inviting.
Here’s my word of advice though — this is a tough race, and it’s hard to gauge because they don’t publish their finish rate/DNF rate. So, be prepared. My estimates have at least half the field not finishing in 2021 (including me!).
Pretty course
It's a pretty course but the weather was just really cold. It was in the low 20s when I started running. Parking was ample. I don't recall any aid stations, … MORE
It’s a pretty course but the weather was just really cold. It was in the low 20s when I started running. Parking was ample. I don’t recall any aid stations, but I did the 10k, and so may not have come across any on my course, and as soon as the race ended I was back in my car with the heater on, headed home.
Not sure about local hotels, although there are probably a few up in the touristy areas on the mountain. Otherwise you’d have to head down to Chattanooga, I guess. That’s about 20 or 30 minutes down the mountain.