The biggest of all of the Run Chattanooga and Awesomesauce races, the Raccoon Half Marathon and 10K showcases the beautiful scenery on Raccoon Mountain in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Choose from the original part road/part trail course, or choose an all-trail or all-road course.
Run Raccoon Mountain is part of the Awesomesauce Farewell Tour, and this is the last planned year for this event.
This race doesn’t take itself seriously, and neither should you. The aid stations are a snack food buffet, the trail is marked with stuffed animals, and every runner gets a personalized sign on the course. At the finish line, you’ll find a medal with your name on it and all the burgers and chips and brownies you can eat. Yes, vegetarians too!
From the group of runners who declared that it was time to put some fun back in the run, this is a great race for first-timers at all distances, and first-time trail runners too! With a course that’s so well marked there’s no chance you’ll get lost, and a crew that wants nothing more than to see you succeed, we’ve got you covered from start to finish!
Finishers of all distances will receive a locally handmade wooden medal with your name on it!
First time participants receive a complimentary coonskin cap. (The cap part of the coonskin caps is made with synthetic fur. We have options with and without a real raccoon tail.)
The original course combines the best of Chattanooga’s worlds – part road and part trail. All races begin at Laurel Point on top of Raccoon Mountain.
Runners traveling on the original course head up to the road around the reservoir dam and stay on the road for the first 3-ish miles. (Super precise, we know!)
There is an aid station just past mile 3. At that point, runners will head onto the trails around the Switchyard and the east side of the mountain for about another 3-ish miles.
The next aid station is at the 6-ish mile mark, at the East Overlook.
Miles 7-ish through 10-ish take runners back onto the road up the east side of the rim road, revisiting the Switchyard aid station, then back down toward Laurel Point.
Then it’s a quick stop at an aid station before heading back onto the trails to the finish at Laurel Point.
Aid stations and port-o-potties will be available approximately every 3 miles, and before/after each trail section. Peeing in the woods is unnecessary!
Runners taking on the all trail half marathon will pop off the trails to visit some aid stations. Due to the locations of the trails, all trail half marathoners may want to carry a hydration system like a Camelbak or handheld bottle to hydrate between aid stations, since you may go up to 5 miles between aid stations. The all-trail half gets the best view of the gorge, but you will work for that view!
10K runners use the rim road – no trails for you! Aid stations are at mile 3 and an optional aid station at mile 4.5ish.
Doing the all-road half marathon? You’ll do two loops (with a little extra, because we like our courses to measure accurately) of the 10K course.
The course is NOT flat and not fast. Hills keep things interesting and easy is boring! The course is not exceptionally difficult, but it is challenging. The trails are not super technical, and trail shoes are not necessary, although some prefer to wear them. The rocks can be slippery, so use caution! We welcome walkers/hikers/casual meanderers!
Don’t expect to PR here. DO expect to have a great time!
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Sweetest race ever!
Course was awesome! Markings were great, volunteers were fantastic! Loved the views! And the aid stations were out of this world. This is a definite repeat. The trail sections were … MORE
Course was awesome! Markings were great, volunteers were fantastic! Loved the views! And the aid stations were out of this world. This is a definite repeat. The trail sections were really technical but so worth it.
Most difficult run I have ever completed
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 … MORE
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.