It seems like it rains every time the Chattanooga Track Club plans a race for Raccoon Mountain.
Such was the case on Saturday as the annual Raccoon Mountain 10K and 5K races were held under cool, drizzling conditions, but the rain was nothing like what fell two years ago when it rained sideways and even hailed during the run around the perimeter.
The rain and wind didn’t seem to have any negative effect on Geno Phillips as he won the 6.2-mile race for the third time, Saturday’s winning effort netting a time of 36 minutes and 19 seconds.
And for the third straight year, Dean Thompson was the runner-up in 36:47.
Ryan Shrum was a little further back as he finished third in 38:02.
Lisa Holt, a 27-year-old running store associate from Ithica, New York, was the women’s overall winner as she finished sixth in 41:32 while Jennifer Curtis was 12th overall as she was the second lady to finish with a time of 45:35.
Lisa Logan was 18th overall and the women’s masters winner with her time of 47:13.
Justin Guy was the overall winner in the 5K with a time of 18:41 as he beat runner-up Jasper Wilson by 63 seconds.
Mary Paige Pepper beat her younger sister Maggie for overall honors in the shorter race as she finished 14th overall in 25:36. Maggie was clocked in the same time, but she got outleaned at the finish line. Emory Allen was the third woman and 16th overall in 25:39.
The scenery is normally one of the drawing cards for this race, which starts and finishes at the Laurel Point picnic area and includes a loop around the reservoir at the top. The view of beautiful fall leaves was replaced by a dense fog, which pretty much eliminated getting a good look at anything. And even though it was a light rain that fell throughout the morning, there was a nagging headwind that swept across the top and caused problems for several runners.
“That was tough with the wind and the rain,” said Phillips, a 44-year-old teacher and coach at Red Bank Middle School.
“It seemed like the wind was in my face the whole way, but it was about what I figured I would run. Dean led for the first two miles, but I finally caught him and ran about the time I wanted,” he continued.
Thompson just turned 50 a few weeks ago and is currently training for the half-marathon in Dalton next month where he hopes to break the state age group record. He’ll get about 70 miles this week as he hopes to be under 1:17 for the race on October 24.
“Geno was dragging for the first two miles as he seemed to have a hard time getting started. He finally caught and passed me toward the end of the second mile and I hung around for about two more miles before he put some distance on me in the fifth.
“But all things considered, I’m happy with my time as I just wanted a good hard effort. I was afraid the wind was going to blow my hat off, but every time I looked up, he was a little further ahead. This is my third straight year to finish second,” the friendly fellow from Cohutta explained later.
Shrum is also doing some long miles as he hopes to break 2:50 at the Chickamauga Marathon in November. He ran a strong race on Saturday and finished with a couple of miles at the end in the 5:45 range.
“It was a good race as I ran with Jeremy Miller until we got to the big hill,” he remembered the longest hill of more than a half-mile near the midpoint of the race.
“I threw in a surge and got away from him there, but I’m really pleased with my time. I have a long run tomorrow and that will give me about 65 miles for the week,” the 48-year-old ice machine salesman added.
Holt came to town to support her boyfriend Doug MacLean, who will be doing the Ironman on Sunday. Despite the less than perfect weather conditions, she was all smiles after she finished.
“That was a doozy as it was kind of windy out there. My run was okay as I really didn’t have any expectations, but I do triathlons too and am training for an Ironman in Cozumel the weekend after Thanksgiving.
“I gave a good effort today on an honest course. I know we can’t control what the weather was doing, but at least it wasn’t snowing,” she concluded with a laugh.
Guy is a 42-year-old waiter at the St.
John’s restaurant in downtown Chattanooga. He won with his 18:41 after finishing third last year.
“I played it smart as I ran a tactical race for the first mile. I had the lead in this race last year and got beat on the way back, so this has been on my calendar ever since. Anything over 18 minutes is disappointing to me, but considering the wind today, it wasn’t so bad,” he added.
Steve Smalling served as the race director for the fourth straight year and seemed to be calm as could be despite the weather.
"I think everyone had a good time today, but it seems like it's becoming a tradition for it to rain on odd-number years. It's rained for two of the four years I've been here, so it must be the time of year, but at least it wasn't anything like we had two years ago," he laughed.
If you happened to run the race and noticed the lack of equipment at the finish line, including the huge blowup arch that you run under, it’s because one of the Chattanooga Track Club trailers was stolen earlier in the week from a storage facility in East Ridge.
Luckily, all of the timing equipment wasn’t included, but several tables, tents and cones for the finish chutes are now gone. If you happen to see this trailer, which looks like a U-Haul trailer and is white with a CTC logo on the side, please contact the Chattanooga Police Department.
(Email John Hunt at nomarathonmoose@gmail.com)