The Terra Trail Marathon, Half Marathon and “Half-Half” (6.x mile) trail race will take place at 8am Saturday at Johnston Woods Retreat Center in McDonald, TN (298 Brymer Creek Rd. McDonald, TN 37353). The course utilizes a ~6.55 mile loop, so the full marathon is 4 loops, the half marathon is 2-loops, and the “half-half” is a single loop. The course is a mixture of beginner single track, gravel road beds, and slightly more challenging single track.
This is a winter-time race so the weather is unpredictable! We may have snow, rain, mud, heat, frigid temperatures, or some combination! Or, we may have a beautiful 40 degree sunny winter day. The course conditions may be excellent or may be a tough slog. This is part of the challenge so embrace the elements!
The race is staged at Johnston Woods retreat center with access to indoor restrooms and a climate controlled building for pre and post race! We recommend bringing a pair of sandals, flip flops, or slip-on shoes for pre and post race as we have a “no trail shoes in the lodge” rule. We are lucky enough to use the awesome venue, but we need to do our part to keep it looking nice!
AID STATIONS
The half marathon will pass through at least 3 stations (one mid-way through each loop and one as you start the second loop). The half-half will pass through one aid station. The marathon will pass through 5 aid stations.
Aid stations will be stocked with water, electrolyte drink, gels, and various snacks that we think would taste good such as M&Ms, salty chips, and pretzels. We encourage runners to utilize a handheld bottle or hydration pack that you can refill at the aid stations to cover the distance between aid stations.
TIME LIMITS
The time cutoffs listed below will be enforced. If you are in doubt, we encourage you to move down in distance (cutoff paces/mile are faster for longer distances). If you sign up for the marathon and are over 3:30 at the end of 2 loops, you can continue to loop 3 or go to the half marathon finish and be scored in the half marathon. 5:15 to start loop 4 is a strict cutoff. We do not recommend this as a first-time marathon unless you are experienced and well trained. It is a challenging course with potentially challenging weather elements and less aid/support than a road marathon. We want you to have a great experience and enjoy the trails!
Full Marathon: 7:00 Finish, 5:15 to start loop 4.
Half Marathon: 4:15
“Half-Half”: 3:00
SWAG
All finishers (all 3 races) will earn a tremendously awesome finisher medal.
All registrants will receive a sweet commemorative shirt. Full marathon finishers will receive an extra awesome reward!
AWARDS
Awards will be given to the 1st place overall male and female finishers, as well as 1st place in the following age groups in each event: 9 and under, 10-19, 20-29, 30-39, 40-49, 50-59, and 60 and over.
The race will be professionally chip-timed by Terra Running Company with immediate online results! A split mat in the middle of the loop will provide live split times throughout the day for our full and half marathon runners.
LESS
Good race for locals
This is a decent race. Average, which is to say that it has all of the obligatory swag, volunteers, packet pickup, etc. A good race. I did appreciate the endless … MORE
This is a decent race. Average, which is to say that it has all of the obligatory swag, volunteers, packet pickup, etc. A good race.
I did appreciate the endless boxes of pizza on offer after the race, and the indoor bathrooms. This is a small race so you won’t have to fight crowds, and the course is nice, but it’s a lot of in-the-woods running without any great views. If you are local and looking for a race, this one is worth a look.