Steve Underwood is one of those guys who really practices what he preaches.
Originally from Louisiana where he grew up, he later attended Southeast Louisiana before graduating with his undergraduate degree. He then spent a year at Northeast Louisiana where he earned his masters degree.
He came to Chattanooga for a visit in 1977 and hasn’t left yet.
He’s been on the faculty at UTC for the past 37 years, including 33 in a fulltime capacity. His current title is Associate Professor in the Health and Human Performance department.
He was a track star in high school and was a walk-on at Southeast before earning a scholarship his last three years. He spent more time injured than he cares to remember, but was the Gulf State Conference champion in the mile his junior year before winning the indoor title his senior year with a personal best of 4:15.1.
Steve is one of those guys who loves to push himself to the limit, often to see just how much punishment his body can take. His career as a runner and triathlete are nothing short of phenomenal as he was one of the best in the Chattanooga area during his prime.
“I just loved to run and I’d often do my running on a cinder track. One time I ran 100 laps on that track (25 miles) as I was crazy like that, but there were very few distance runners where I came from,” the 62-year-old Underwood said Wednesday afternoon while relaxing in the lobby of the downtown YMCA.
His first marathon experience came in October 1978 where he won the Snow Hill Marathon in 2:35. That race later moved to Chickamauga Park where it’s stayed since 1980.
Steve has no idea how many marathons he ran, but none were ever faster than the first one.
“I ran quite a few with the Team In Training groups and I’ll be the first to admit that I had more bad experiences than good. I just wasn’t a smart runner. I had a lot of talent and could have been much better if I’d been a little smarter,” he laughed.
As you might expect from someone who goes from zero to a hundred on the first day, you probably won’t be surprised to know that his first triathlon was an Ironman in 1982.
Unlike these days when these races are all over the place, Steve went to Hawaii for his first as that was the only one at the time.
“It was exciting with so many people and helicopters hovering overhead. I had been hurt and didn’t run a step for the month prior to that race and there were no clipless pedals for the bikes like we have now, but it was a great experience,” he said, noting that his first one was an impressive 12:54.
He started training with fellow UTC professor Leroy Fanning the next year and they both went to Hawaii for his last race at that distance where you start by swimming 2.4 miles, ride a bike 112 miles before finishing with a marathon.
“I had a flat tire at the 20-mile mark of the bike ride and was slow changing it, so I lost quite a bit of time there. We biked across lava fields, so it was really hot with no shade. We had crosswinds about 50 mph so it was a brutal experience,” he remembered.
Despite all of those drawbacks, he still crossed the finish line in 11:37.
“I was completely intrigued by races like that, although I had never done much swimming. My first one qualified me for the second one, but I did a bunch of shorter Olympic-distance races for the next six or eight years,” he nodded.
Underwood later got into ultramarathons, including the Pine Mountain Trail Run around 2000, which was 46 miles. He ended up winning the Masters division as he finished sixth overall in 9:43.
“I also registered for the Western States race a couple of times, but never got in,” he recalled entering the 100-mile race considered by many to be one of the toughest endurance events in the world.
He later did an ultra in Eagle, Wisconsin named the Kettle Moraine Trail Run, which was also 100 miles.
“That race started at 3 in the afternoon, so you could break it up into three parts. You could use a pacer for the last 39 miles and Heath Eslinger (the current UTC wrestling coach) was mine and that helped a lot. It got hot at the end and people were dropping like flies, but I was able to finish in 22:18,” he smiled.
“I always enjoyed doing stuff that nobody else would even attempt. I’ve ridden my bike to Florida five times and I rode across America in 1983 from Ventura, California to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.
“We started on July fourth and it was really hot. The temperature was 117 degrees when we stopped on the second day. The guy I was riding with dropped out when we got to Denver, but I was able to finish that trip in 30 days.
“I stayed in houses with local folks on 18 of those 30 days as I was a talker, but that was another unique experience,” he said of the 3,300-mile trip.
Underwood got into trail running in a big way and did mostly trails for the last 20 years of his running career. One of his favorite courses was on the side of Lookout Mountain on a route known as “Big Daddy.”
Nobody knows for sure just how far it is, but it’s a run in the 12-15 mile range with some incredible hills and quite dangerous in places as there are some spots where one little slip could result in a fatal fall off the side of the mountain.
Steve and his buddy John Currier ran it on a regular basis and they always had a friendly competition as to who could cover the distance.
“My best time was 1:13:29, but I was in great shape in those days,” he laughed.
All of those accomplishments were several years ago, so what is he doing these days to stay in shape?
“I don’t like to swim much and it’s been at least five years since my last run. Too many years of racquetball and hard running really beat me up, but I ride my bike almost every day and I still like to push myself,” he said.
He also got into adventure races, which are events involving teams where they did stuff like mountain bike, canoeing or kayaking, running or even rock climbing. Most were two and three days in length.
“Most were three-man races, but I did those for about five years. You don’t have to be fast to do well, but you just have to keep on going. There were times when we’d be behind, but somebody in front might get lost and we’d pass them,” he remembered.
“I love my lifestyle and wouldn’t change a thing. Leroy and I used to push each other every day, but that’s our profession. There was nobody in our department who didn’t exercise. That’s just what we do and it makes me feel so good.
“I like competition and I don’t do anything halfway as I go all out. I still like to push it, just not quite as hard as I once did, but I just loved seeing how long I could make myself hurt,” he concluded.
Steve and Karen, his wife of 33 years, are the parents of two adult children, including Tyler, who is 28, and Shellie, a daughter who is 30.
Tyler is a runner and has gotten increasingly faster in marathons. The family will go to London later this year for his next one and he’s already signed up for Berlin.
“I think that I had more ability than him, but he’s so much smarter than I was. But it’s fun watching him race these days,” the proud father concluded.
Steve Underwood can share stories about his athletic career as long as you’re willing to listen.
He was very good as he had the motivation to push himself to the limit, producing results that at times were almost unbelievable.
But for a guy who has made a career out of teaching about physical fitness and its benefits, he walks the walk and he talks the talk.
And he hopes to keep going as long as he can.
(This is the 46th in a series on runners in the Chattanooga area. If you know someone who might make an interesting story, email John Hunt at nomarathonmoose@comcast.net)