The race starts and finishes at the Haw Ridge Life Development Center on Old Edgemoor Drive in Oak Ridge, Tennessee.
I loved, and was tortured by, the first two miles of steep uphill. Then after the last steep climb on tippy toes, it was a steep, downhill treacherous hike to get to the meandering, up and down fun single track trail for the remainder of the course.
After the initial climb and descent the trail ran down to a lake and skirted it for many miles. I wanted to jump in it because it was so hot and needed to cool off, but erred on the side of caution. The trees kept us a little cool; the benefits of trail running in the summer.
There was a train in the distance hooting its horn; I love trains. All the runners were in good spirits and I think they enjoyed the trail as much as I did. The single track was so well maintained and since it hasn’t rained in weeks, the course was in perfect condition filled with many rocks and roots.
The race description said 8 miles. It was 8.7. I’m not complaining, now that I’m writing this, because it was a GREAT course. At the 8 mile mark my brain wanted to see the finish line, but it was another 10 minutes away.
It was nice to get out of Sevier County for a few hours and explore the woods in Tennessee.
I signed up for this race series so I could get to know trails outside of where I live. The Treadin’ Trodden Trails race series is top notch. So far I’ve run trails at IC King which is similar to Haw Ridge in that it is for mountain biking, too.
I’m looking forward to the next race in the series, The Trail That Can’t Be Concord. All the website says is that it will be at The Appalachian Mountain Bike Club (AMBC) at this address: 11813 S Northshore Drive. I can’t wait to run this new-to-me trail.
Click this link to view information on this area from a mountain bike perspective. I need to get back here with my bike.
Race Website: https://runsignup.com/hawridgetrailrace
Distance: 8.7 miles.
Time: 1 hr, 58 mins
What I ate: Pre-race: English muffin, half peanut butter and jelly sandwich. During race: one GU gel, 6 Skratch Labs Sport Energy Chews (towards the end and they helped)
What I drank: two bottles tailwind endurance fuel, 1 L water
What I wore: Salomon hydration vest, CW-X compression shorts, Little Rock marathon race top, Pistol Ultra baseball hat
What I saw: no wildlife, 250 people entered the race
Rate this trail run: 10/10