The Motus Trail Run Series moves to Morristown, TN to bring one of the toughest and most exciting trail runs on the circuit. Nestled around a finger of Cherokee Lake, Panther Creek State Park presents a rural playground for mountain bikers and trail runners alike. Winding through the State Park, …
MORE
The Motus Trail Run Series moves to Morristown, TN to bring one of the toughest and most exciting trail runs on the circuit. Nestled around a finger of Cherokee Lake, Panther Creek State Park presents a rural playground for mountain bikers and trail runners alike. Winding through the State Park, participants will encounter plenty of rocks, roots, and climbing to test their grit. Motus Panther Creek will take participants through the landscape and rugged hills of East Tennessee while exploring this magnificent park.
The half marathon course starts off on the same trails as the shorter trail race but then migrates to the more technical and scenic parts of the park. A good portion of the half marathon course runs along the shoreline of Cherokee Lake before tackling the lesser known areas of Panther Creek State Park when rolling hills give way to steady climbs.
Most of the 4.2 mile run course resembles that of a cross country course. The most technical part of the run occurs near the halfway point after a wooden bridge crossing, but then gives way to open fields and rolling hills. A great course for beginner trail runners.
LESS
Hard run, and very hot
I don't know if this run was just really, really difficult or if I was out of running shape. Maybe both. I had done shorter runs in the few weeks … MORE
I don’t know if this run was just really, really difficult or if I was out of running shape. Maybe both. I had done shorter runs in the few weeks prior to this one but nothing that approached 18 miles. It was hot, so very hot and humid.
Did I say it was hot? Or humid? It was. The finish line is at the put-in for the lake and I basically just kept running through the finish line, to the pizza tent to grab a slice, and then straight into the water. I stayed in the water cooling off for probably 20 minutes, and I was not the only runner who was doing this. Clearly runners had been thinking about this during the last few miles of the race.
For a trail run it was so-so. That’s not a knock on the race organizers or the state park. I’m from the Southeast and currently live in Chattanooga. I generally find trail courses to be not a great ROI. You work really hard and don’t get a lot of payoff in terms of views or waterfalls, etc. Still, I do the trail runs here because… well, because I live here. I wuld say that the trail itself was decent. There were rocky and rooty places but there were also plenty of places that weren’t rooty and rocky.
There were port-a-potties on site, parking was easy enough, and although I didn’t camp in the park I do believe there was camping available, or lodging close to the park.
I’d recommend this one for runners who live within a couple hours drive, but probably not further than that. I am not itching to do it again but would if I were looking for a nearby race and this was the only one that fit my calendar.