State Number 21
v2.0 – Mockingbird Marathon
Erwin, TN
6 June 2019
Mimus
polyglottos, the Northern Mockingbird, is the state bird of Tennessee. An amazing bird? Yes, and where I live, they make themselves
abundantly clear of their existence. The
first ever running of this new marathon coincidentally takes its namesake from this
intelligent bird.
I find first-year events quite awesome. The intent of race directors is to bring
energy and passion to showcase what a race can become. Besides, when you add in great race directors
to an inaugural event, it can push things over the top. Moreover, a participant instantly becomes a
legacy runner.
I went into this marathon with some sort of skepticism on
the overall number of participants, but I still maintained a positive point of
view. With a first-year event in a small
town tucked away in a mountainous region of eastern Tennessee, who wouldn’t
feel cynical? On the other hand, it is
comforting to know that the Mockingbird Marathon is managed and sponsored by
the newly formed “Road to 50” multi-distance
running club.
Marathons are a huge activity no matter how you look at
it. Organizing one takes a lot of
planning and logistics from bringing on sponsors to cover the various expenses,
dealing with community authorities for the necessary permits, advertising,
putting together a good plan to draw runners to your event, inter alia.
Obviously, every race started as an inaugural race at
some point. Many made it into an annual
event and drew larger numbers of participants.
Others had some issues before, during or after the race causing it to be
a one-time event. Fortunately, that does
not seem to scare people away as more events are planned all the time.
I’ve run all but one or two inaugural marathons (with the
first being the Chattanooga Marathon which is why I’m running Mockingbird). I like the idea of supporting a running event
that is trying to establish a new presence.
I know it takes a lot to see these races through and for almost every
race director, it is a thankless job.
Except for the major marathons (e.g. NYC and Boston), race directors are
usually not remunerated for their time.
So, these individuals are giving up their time to give back to the hobby
of running and to try and highlight their particular corner of the world. To be able to have a part in supporting
Mockingbird’s and the Road to 50’s effort is truly a pleasure.
The Mockingbird Marathon kicked off its inauguration in
the community of Erwin, TN, a community of around 6000 residents tucked in the
mountains of northeastern Tennessee. The
region is surrounded by the Cherokee National Forest, and heavily forested mountains
dominate the view in all directions with the renowned Appalachian Trail flanking
the eastern edge of the city.
I’ve had some pretty good luck with inaugural marathons
over the years, but the maiden running of the 6 March 2016 Chattanooga Marathon
eventually turned out to be anything but good luck. At the time, I was thrilled to check-off
State No. 21, only later to find out the state won’t officially count due to a
set-up blunder.
The marathon itself was a great and very challenging
event, but the misfortune of organizers incorrectly overseeing the course
layout (causing it to be 0.28-mile short) raised some eyebrows at the 50-States
Marathon Club, thereby disallowing Chattanooga from being certified as an
official marathon distance.
Completely understandable, but in my personal and humble
opinion, I believe if runners put in a good-faith effort to run a marathon they
believed was official, to no fault of their own, it should count. So, to officially become a certified finisher
of all fifty states, I must repeat Tennessee and chalk-up Chattanooga as “just
another marathon.” Conversely, for those
content with being a non-certified finisher, Chattanooga would technically
count – but, in the long run, I know being a non-certified finisher wouldn’t
sit well with me. I digress.
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| Appalachian Trail: 344 miles to Springer Mountain, GA - 1847 mi to Baxter Peak-Katahdin, ME |
My wife and I embarked on our last cross-country journey
by enjoying another dreaded red-eye flight into Charlotte, NC (CLT) via ORD on
5 June and trekked up the highways and byways through heavy rain storms into the Blue Ridge Mountains, ultimately ending
up in the Erwin/Johnson City area, some five hours later. (Emphasis added).
Thursday morning snuck upon us too fast. My lack of sleep on the red-eye began to
erode my energy levels, but we had a mission to accomplish. We arrived at Erwin’s Fishery Park, shortly
before the 0600 start time. A handful of
runners were already in marathon mode as they elected to take advantage of the
0500 early start. I was tired and worn
out from a long travel day and I didn’t feel as if I was in any kind of running
mode. But, I knew once I began running, such
feelings would quickly dissolve into oblivion.
We picked up our goody-bag containing our bib, event
shirt and a wrist band containing a timing chip used to “check in” at the timing
stations located at each turnaround point.
At the start line staging area, a distance measuring
wheel sat propped up against a table, spurred thoughts of my previous Tennessee
experience and hoped this inaugural run is not similar to the inaugural run of
the Chattanooga Marathon.
Going into this marathon, I would be lying if lingering
doubts hadn’t proliferated through my mind, but I kept an optimistic attitude. In order to officially count as a marathon,
the 50-States Marathon Club requires a minimum of ten marathon distance
finishers. The race director assured us
that enough marathon and 50K runners entered to officially count. That assurance quickly suppressed my
lingering doubts.
The Mockingbird course is quite simple. The marathon begins and ends at Erwin’s Fishery
Park and consists of a 1.1-mile out-and-back course (2.2 miles roundtrip) along
the Erwin Linear Trail paralleling I-26 adjacent to North Indian Creek. Marathoners complete the 2.2-mile lap twelve
times.
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| It all begins here |
Let’s Do This
I approached this marathon with a positive frame of mind
as the day started off with warm humid conditions under a mostly cloudy sky characteristic
of a tropical environment. The sun
hadn’t risen above the horizon, but enough twilight permeated the area to
illuminate the course without the need for external lighting and lamp posts
along the trail provided additional foot-candles.
Eight runners competing in the half marathon, marathon
and 50K lined up at an unmarked line for the 0600 start. After some brief instructions, the race
director lead the gang of eight onto the trail as we began our journey.
The trail immediately began with a slight uphill grade out
of the parking lot into a 120-foot long tunnel leading to a steep downhill
switchback into a forested area.
 |
| Course profile from my Garmin |
Split
times:
(9:17, 10:22, 10:31, 10:15, 11:16,
10:52, 11:59, 11:24, 12:15, 10:42,
12:53, 11:20, 12:58, 13:16, 13:32,
13:00, 13:28, 14:38, 15:26, 16:32,
16:44, 17:24, 16:39, 16:23, 13:38,
16:44, 13:17 projected pace [final 0.13 mi])
 |
| Views of the course |
Going out, I branded the tunnel as the first landmark,
then the steep switchback, the two successive bridges with decaying timber decks,
the blind corners, the retaining wall slowly succumbing to the active earth
pressures, leading to a bridge at the brow of a small hill with the turnaround
point in the near distance. Here, a
runner must tap their timing chip wrist band onto a portable sensor before
continuing with the second half of the lap.
The course is anything but flat with a few small rolling inclines and one steep switchback, but when traversing the course twenty-four times, there are a lot of hills. The first segment was a net downhill, and you guessed it, making the second segment a net uphill.
I completed the first mile in 9:17 as I cruised towards
the first turn-around. As sweat dripped
from my face, I gulped a cup of water before beginning my trek back to the
start to complete the first lap. I memorized
the same landmarks, but this time in reverse.
Spectators were non-existent, so any kind of course
support and motivation came from those passing or approaching you from the
other direction. “Good job,” “way to
go,” “hang in there” or a smile accompanied with a thumbs up were common forms
of expression and runner support.
As I began my march back to the start line, realism set
in and I had to reiterate to myself that counting miles was not an option if I
was to complete the race, but rather mentally counting twelve laps was the only
prospect of keeping my sanity. I
approached the start line check point (first lap) in just over twenty-two
minutes to a nice spread of food, snacks, pickle juice and drinks for runners
to enjoy.
Since the end of my marathoning quest seemed to rapidly
approach, I went into this race with no intentions to set any records or win
any prizes, but rather to have a good time and enjoy the experience of a Road
to 50 marathon. By taking my time at
each aid station, I found time for some human interaction, a brief respite or
to partake in the food spread.
After six laps of dashing back and forth (half marathon),
I checked in with a time of 2:29, more or less.
The heat and humidity certainly affected my performance and I began to
show signs of struggle – struggle to negotiate the hills, struggle to keep cool
and the struggle to keep a steady pace.
I memorized every hanging tree branch and every bit of litter alongside
the trail, every broken fence board or hole in a chain-link fence and the
deteriorating retaining wall that looked as if it could fail at any moment. I also kept my mind engaged by calculating
every curve’s tangent so I could run the shortest possible route while still
remaining legal.
At times, the memories of Hatfield-McCoy coursed through
my mind. Mockingbird seemed eerily
similar, but without the blazing sun and I set my sights on finishing in under
six hours. My shirt and shorts became
drenched with sweat triggering chafing and hot spots in areas I don’t ordinarily
experience.
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| Into the finish |
Whether it was foot pain, leg pain, heat pain, or
whatever, my walking stints became greater in number. After the tenth lap, I was ready to wrap up
my race. The pain associated with
running was mediated by the specific nerve fibers that carried such impulses to
the brain where their conscious appreciation was modified by two acetaminophen
tablets – but not by much. The helping
hand I ordinarily experience from my magic pills did not materialize.
As the number of marathon and 50K runners dwindled to
just a trickle, marathon regular Henry Rueden seemed to be always just around
the corner offering me much needed encouragement to continue. On the twenty-forth and final leg of the
marathon, I crossed paths with Henry one last time. He wished me well and I wished him all the
best in all his future endeavors.
I resolved to wrap up this race with my head held high
without hubris. My determination to
finish strong proved no match for that ugly switchback; however. It was just as painful walking up the hill as
it was running down it. Once through the
tunnel one final time, I soared down the slight gradient into the finish line
area to the cheers of my wife and the kind race director and his wife, tapping
my wrist band on the sensor stopping the clock at 5:44:44. Average lap time 28:43.
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| My two prizes |
RACE STATS:
Distance:
Marathon (26.2 mi) – my Garmin clocked it at 26.13 mi
Date: 6 June
2019
Bib No.: 148
(Coincidentally my Roadie Number)
Weather at
start: 70°F, mostly cloudy, humid, steamy with slight
breeze from the south
Chip time: 5:44:44
Gun time:
5:44:44
Average
cadence: 142 steps per minute
Average pace: 13:09
per mile
Overall rank: 2
of 14
Elevation: 1243
ft gain / 1243 ft loss
Age graded
score: 41.61%
Age graded
time: 4:55:30
Garmin splits: (9:17, 10:22,
10:31, 10:15, 11:16, 10:52, 11:59, 11:24, 12:15, 10:42, 12:53, 11:20, 12:58,
13:16, 13:32, 13:00, 13:28, 14:38, 15:26, 16:32, 16:44, 17:24, 16:39, 16:23,
13:38, 16:44, 13:17 projected pace [final 0.13 mi])
LIKES / WHAT
WORKED:
- Small race field and locale.
- Pedestrian/bike path used for course.
- Well-organized event with ample food and liquids.
- Super friendly support from race directors.
- Easy parking race morning.
- Finishing in second place!!
DISLIKES / WHAT DIDN’T WORK:
- Twelve laps of an out and back course.
Following my award-winning finish,
but lack luster performance, it felt great to take off a load with a frozen
Otter Pop and some cups of cold chocolate milk while shooting the breeze with a
fellow runner.
After exchanging pleasantries about
our running adventures, we returned to our hotel in Johnson City to gather our
belongings before traversing the Blue Ridge Mountains to Boone, NC.
Final thoughts
Erwin is a community where the simple life proliferates
through the region it lies. As I ran the
Erwin Linear Trail, for some unknown reason, I reflected back to the precepts
of the craft of Freemasonry and the common gavel – a gavel we hold in common
and a tool of the mind which we all have and may use to perfect a simple
life.
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| On the way to the next venue |
What figure could be better to represent a simple life
where everything is contented and aligned? I believe it comes down to the
simplicity and strength of the Doric column. Nothing superfluous, yet
beautiful in its perfection and eastern Tennessee is the place – the place of
simple beauty. The beauty of nature and of geometric forms manifested by
our creativity.
Every race is
always a new undertaking and I love visiting new places with new experiences.
Overall, I felt privileged to have participated in the Mockingbird race. It ended up being one of those events
that was so well put together, that it gave me the impression the event was an
annual tradition.
Retracing your steps can make each segment of a race seem long and dull. However, with Mockingbird, I found the 1.1-mile segments anything but long. Yes, I ended up seeing or experiencing only a smidgeon of the Erwin area compared to a point-to-point or loop course, but I was still pleasantly surprised. The nicely manageable segments lessened the dullness factor and being able to pass other runners and judging the gaps diverted my attention from any boredom. There was always something to see or something to hear.
Most of the time, there's usually a tight, momentum sapping turn around an orange cone at a turnaround point, but I treated each turnaround as a refreshment break. A break from any dullness and monotony and a chance to reset my outlook.
Although I prefer point-to-point or loop courses, this multiple short out-and-back segment marathon was something I will always remember. I will remember the generous friendly race directors going out of their way to make all the participants feel at home and made sure I had everything I needed to feel comfortable as I finished the race. Above all, I will remember the happiness it made me feel as I was presented with a second-place award.
Whether or not I run a Road to 50 marathon again remains to be seen, but if the opportunity presented itself, I may be there.
Let’s meet again Saturday in Fleetwood, NC for the ultimate marathon, thus rounding out my fifty-state journey.
As always, onward and upward.
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