7 Bridges Chattanooga, TN

Welcoming Gavin, Desmond Doss's Story, and Moon Pie Stout Review Hello everybody, welcome back. This is how is your race today We have on Gavin. Gavin is a friend of mine. We have ran together in several races. Gavin has ran 21 half marathons, put them in the veteran category together we have ran Derby Marathon, Well, Derby Half marathon Go Saint Louis Hot, several different versions of the Hot Chocolate Race series and the Urban Bourbon, which is also in Louisville, KY. Today we're going to be talking about 7, the Seven Bridges and the Four Bridges. The Seven Bridges is the marathon version of the Four Bridges. The Four Bridges, The full title of that one is the Desmond Doss Memorial Four Bridges Half Marathon. Going a little bit out of character. I want to go a little bit more into that private first class. Desmond Doss received the Congressional Medal of Honor despite refusing to bear arms during World War 2 on religious grounds as a 7th Day Adventist. Doss volunteered and was ostracized by fellow soldiers for his pacifist stands, but went on to earn respect and admiration for his bravery, selflessness, and compassion after he risked his life without firing a single shot to save 75 men in the Battle of Okinawa. There's a movie based on him, it's the Hacksaw Ridge. I do not know how accurate that is. So I don't want to say, you know, one way or the other. I just know that it's based on his, his story. So that's a little bit out of character for me. But I feel that with this race and that man it, it, it deserves a little bit special, special nod. But getting back to the normal program, we're going to be enjoying the Moon Pot Milk Stout from Naked River Brewery in Chattanooga, TN. This beer is incredibly rich, smooth, creamy stout made is made with Moon Pies in collaboration with Moon Pie, the Mumbai company. If you ever have the Moon Pies, they're a little chocolate. Typically, they're chocolate. It could be strawberry or banana cake with a marshmallow middle that you're actually supposed to microwave for five to 10 seconds. They are known as a working maid's lunch and the working and this beer is the working man's reward. This is a 64 IBU, 8.5% ABV. Very delicious beer. Every time I'm in Chattanooga, I try to grab 4-4 packs. Maybe my that's just a little beading. OK, got to got to stuff the fridge. We're going to go ahead and give this Moon Pie Stout a four. It's four medals, 4 out of five medals and we're going to kick back, relax and talk to Gavin about his experience with the Four Bridges. Race Discovery, Registration Process, and Pre-Race Updates Gavin, how did you first hear about Four Bridges? Speaker 2 So we actually stopped in Chattanooga on the way to Atlanta or 4th of July when we went there. And I've been through Chattanooga a few times, but my wife Sarah knew about it. So we stopped in Chattanooga on the way to and from Atlanta. So we did the aquarium and the kids center. They were with my, my 2 year old. And so I think Sarah knew about him. We were just talking about it. And I think they got the time we were planning on doing another race and that kind of fell apart. So we're just kind of looked at this one and it worked schedule wise with what we wanted to do. And we, we knew the city a little bit. Chattanoogas, you know, if you haven't been there before, it's got a pretty nice little downtown area and a lot of good stuff for kids. Like I said, we did the aquarium and the kids center just going to and from Atlanta and over. Really well done. And just the city that, you know, it's kind of easy to navigate. It's really pretty on the bridges. So just kind of drew our interest there. Speaker 1 Already between between between hearing about it, you finally register. Was the registration anything out of the normal or was that kind of like a easy blow? Speaker 2 Yeah, I don't remember being anything crazy. It's on race roster, which, you know, there's other races on there. I've done other ones on there before. It's probably a little less. I've used that one a little less than others. But yeah, I mean, you know, the traditional race registering experience with all the potential add-ons and stuff like that. But I did find this race a little bit more affordable than a lot of races. I'll say that. Like, you know, I think a lot of halfs of drift of, you know, north of $100 in all the ways. And I think this 1 ended up paying around 80 and it's not like I signed up particularly early. So a little bit cheaper than than a lot of races which, you know, that's good. OK. Speaker 1 Yeah, that's 80 bucks isn't too bad for races it it yet like you said, the price is starting to creep up there a little bit. I don't know all the reasons but but they are for sure. So did you get a lot of emails for this race? Would you inundated just the right amount? Speaker 2 Yeah. I mean, not really honestly like bleeding in. I don't, I don't think I only got a handful now. I think I was only registered about a month ahead of time, but it was about, you know, a handful. There was one really detailed one maybe about a week before the race that kind of had most of what we needed on there as far as where to park and everything. The website's pretty good too, if I had the schedule and the course maps and all that. But I would say it was less communication than a lot of other races I've done. But you know, it's still still got everything we needed. Yeah, I. Speaker 1 Mean when you sign up, when you sign up a month, month and 1/2 hour, you kind of you get the core messages, I guess, but you get you miss a lot of the early, you know, reminders or order your race shirt or not race shirt. Definitely it's involved included depending on the size of the races I have like a race footy or whatever. You could pre-order that with some of the other races. But that's you, You get those emails if you sign up six months, nine months in advance. So I guess with six weeks you don't have that, you don't have the same marketing opportunities. Speaker 2 Yeah, I mean, they did. Well, the weather was kind of iffy for this one. So that was part of the part of the part of the issues with with just leading in is that they was calling for really heavy rain. Like really it was going to be pretty much there in the whole morning of the race or in the morning leading into. So they did send out a couple of notes about that and had some messages on Facebook just about different contingencies and stuff. So that was good. But I mean, you know, when you've done it off of these races and I don't get too hung up on how many emails they send it. They they sent out what we needed to know, so that's good. Speaker 1 That's fair. The Smaller, Outdoor Expo and VIP Packet Pickup Options Where? How was the Expo? Speaker 2 Yeah, I was on the smaller end. I mean, it was in I think it's called Coolidge Park. So there was a full booth set up and it was outside, which is unique in a lot of ways. But there was there was a handful of a different booths set up and the packet pick up and it was it was definitely on the smaller end. And that way, you know, I think Flea Pete was there selling stuff and you know, they were giving out free coffee, which was nice, like free little iced coffees. That was cool. I think it was a local coffee place. I can't think of the name of it off the top of my head, but that was neat. And you know, they they had some stuff, you know, giving away a little bitty stuff and things like that. It was the same place where the I guess the finish, the finish area was in, so like right next to the start line, which was good. I did like that. It just kind of helps the bigger I was like where you're going the next day and all that. So and then, yeah, and then like in that same park, there was actually what I worked out really well for us because I was travelling with a 2 year old. They had a a carousel in the park that was, I don't, I don't think it's always free, but for it was free during this weekend. So like my 2 year old got to ride the carousel quite a bit and it was like right by that she would have wrote it probably 100 more times with the letter. And they also had like an art festival going on in that park that weekend. So there was a lot going on. That was all the day before. So you know, it was a good area. The weather was good for the packet pick up and then like I said, it was right next to the start line and the boy rhino statue that I think they they tell pre hell he is right there. And so you know, pretty easy to find, but just probably on the smaller compared to other races. Speaker 1 Dan, did you do you know or do you remember if they offered the VIP, the VIP off a package or whatever? Speaker 2 I'm not sure. I mean, I, I think they, I think they you could pick up your packet that morning of the race, which again is kind of rare anymore. Speaker 1 But I'm. Speaker 2 Sure they had. I usually don't do the extra add-ons and all that, but I'm sure they had something. Speaker 1 I know when I did it, I was a pacer for it twice. And so, so there, there's the, there's the Expo area or that whole, the, the, the festival area, that the, the lawn. And then there's the road that you come in. Well, you, you run out and then that's where start finish line is. And then on the opposite side of that road, there's a building like AI don't know what to really call it, but I think it's, I think they have theaters in there. But either way, the two years I paced it, we were allowed to go and bet the Pacers or if you upgraded to AVIP, you were allowed to go in there and they had, they had pastries and fruit and a little more beverages and they had full flesh toilets. Speaker 2 Yeah, I know the building you're talking about is because it is the theater, but because that's what I put in to do the lift that morning. But but yeah, I usually honestly halfway read that stuff because I'm not going to pay for it, so. Navigating Race Day Logistics, Parking, and Weather Challenges I understand that that's a. It's especially when you're doing quite a bit of quite a bit of races also when you have a 2 year old, an extra 40 or $50. Yeah, so, but yeah, and and I think they did offer, they did offer race day pick up when I did it, so. Speaker 2 Yeah, I think they did because I seem to remember, I mean, we got they, they had the they had the little Expo the day before and they maybe even had it Friday before as well a little bit. But I think they did have it to where you can get your bed that morning, which again, a lot of races don't do anymore. So you know, especially when you're traveling from out of town and stuff. I mean, that's, you know, that's, that's good. You know, I wish, I wish more races offered that and didn't charge you 30 bucks extra to do it. Speaker 1 Yeah, now getting getting to the race now, I think, yeah, I think I picked up. You said something about Lyft. Speaker 2 Yeah, I well, I got an Uber. I guess it was an Uber, but yeah, we stayed on Airbnb like maybe 2 miles from we'll start something like that, maybe a little longer. And I debated driving that morning, but it was just better to leave the car with Sarah. And the Uber was pretty cheap. And honestly, like the parking situation probably wasn't going to be great. I mean, I think the meters are free in Chattanooga on Sunday, so think you can find parking if you know the area. I'm sure it's a lot easier. I don't so, but yeah, I just got a left and got part dropped off so that made that logistic a little easier. Speaker 1 OK, I remember the years I did it then. So Seven Bridges starts I think 30 minutes before Four Bridges and then there's a parking lot right there 'cause they're in the theater and all that. There's some parking lot right there that but by by time the marathoners have all parked then I I'd never. I've always wondered how the parking was for four bridges, but apparently I'm not going to find out. Speaker 2 I mean, I, it, it is well, and it was pouring rain in that morning. So I, I think I would have had a hard time to be honest. And like, cuz even like parking for the Expo, we kind of parked, I'm not far away, but like we weren't like right next to that either. So I do think it would have been somewhat challenging just not knowing the area. Like, if you know the area, you know, it's probably a lot easier, but not knowing that, you know, not being local, it just and I, I'm not the greatest with navigation. Sarah's kind of our navigator in the family. So it it it just one less stressor for, you know, the $10 Uber ride was, was worth it to me. Speaker 1 Yeah, then I mean getting back there and yeah, you don't have to stress about it. You let somebody else take over and then one, you can get relatively close and didn't just jump out of the car and you don't have to worry about where you parked or yeah. Speaker 2 Well, yeah. And that's actually like, like this race was a little different for me because like, like I said, like the weather, the forecast was terrible. And I actually ended up for the race, ended up being a lot better than what they said it was going to be. Like they made it tell me it was going to rain just all all morning really. So like, there was no way it was going to miss. But it ended up for the actual race. I really didn't get rained on too much, which was good. But sitting in my Airbnb an hour of the race, it was pouring, like, just pouring. And so I kind of made the decision that I was going to go, I was going to wait out the storm and kind of see what it did because they did. And I'll get and I'll give the OR the four bridges and some bridges races credit in this way. They gave runners the option because of the forecast. I guess I don't know if it's just about the forecast for for any reason, but they gave people the option to the further entry to next year. So I give you woke up and didn't want to run. You could say defer to 2026. So and I thought about it to be honest, you know, if you know so because I didn't want to just go be miserable running this race. So so I definitely thought about that. But then it was so but the rain did let up. So like you said, like the marathon starts at 7 like 7 O3 I think it was and 1/2 was 733. So about half hour later and I left my Airbnb at about 7:00, No one, I probably wouldn't quite be able to start right on time, but it wasn't any of the world. Like I got to the start area like right as the race was starting, checked my bag and stretched a little bit and then got run in. So I was maybe, you know, maybe under 10 minutes behind what it what I should have been. But you know, that was just that's what makes I didn't really want to go out there and get drenched. No, you know, before the race even started, so I could avoid. Speaker 1 It I I had to look it up that day it rained just short of 3/4 of an inch and it all fell before 10 AM. Speaker 2 It was, I mean it. I don't know what I think like again, going by the hour by hour, it was supposed to start raining at like 4:00 AM or something like that. And and it was supposed to go until 10 or 11. And it did end up it wasn't quite as bad as they said it was going to be. It stopped. I mean, really, honestly, like once I started running, I mean, I might have rained a little bit, but nothing like nothing that I really that really impacted me. It was just like sitting there before the race. It was like, oh man, like this would not be fun to be out in. So it it was worth it to me to to maybe start a little later than yeah and stay dry. But, and I guess I don't know, I did consider the option of deferring like I know I'll give the race a lot of credit and that way because, you know, I don't think most races will do that to to just give you the option to defer. I mean, they're, they're just going to take your money. So definitely kudos to them in that way. Speaker 1 Yeah, that's a very nice courtesy that they didn't have to have to suffer because, I mean, especially if you were, yeah, if you started out at 7:00 and you're in there for an hour and a half or so. And at the same time, I mean, we're, we, we both understand how weather works. The weather, it might have hit the northern part of Chattanooga or the southern part of Chattanooga and just missed where you were. So like, if the if the rain would have moved 10 miles, you might have been in it a lot longer than if. Yeah. Speaker 2 Yeah, and I mean, I just, I'm I'm not the type that wants to go be miserable for two hours, you know, right. And then so I mean, it is a little harder when you're traveling for a race like that, but because you don't want to like that's why we went to Chattanooga. You know, now we we made it more of an event. We did other things while we were there, but you know, the race was withdrew us there. So it would have been hard to hard to not run. I really wanted to run but and they talked about maybe delaying it. I guess if it had been lightning, which they were calling for lightning initially, like they may have delayed the race, but that didn't end up happening. I kind of thought that would happen, you know, the night before. But so yeah, the weather definitely didn't didn't help circumstances. They just kind of made it somewhat up in the air leading in, but it ended up, you know, for the actual race that ended up being being pretty good. I'll say like the area, I guess where I the packet pick up was in the park and that were I kind of like the gear check was the next morning was just like drenched, like you step in and it was just one of those right, like, you know, you're like sinking into the ground basically. And you know, so I mean it like you you said it rained a lot, so you know, that definitely definitely didn't help. So. Assessing Start Line Amenities and Aid Station Support OK, so we, we get there, we the race is pretty easy to it's, it's fairly easy to find. It's right beside the theater, it's right beside the Blue Rhino. It's pretty easy to find the start and finish line, the start area. I have plenty of porta potties for my degree. Speaker 2 Oh yeah, there was a bunch actually, yeah, probably more than races that are a lot bigger, so. Speaker 1 Yes, I will say this race. To my understanding, this race is put on by the 7th Day Adventist. So the way that a lot of races work is there's there's a race director and then there's a charity, like a main group that the charity is benefiting. And then there's also like different charities or community organizations, which are charities in a way that are along the course and help at different aid stations. And that charity gets a check for having volunteers help out. And with this particular race, the 7th Day Adventist, it seems like the aid stations are very well stopped and supported. And yeah, like you said, the IT it for such a small race. I, I remember, yeah, for such a small race. I mean, I've done Chicago, I've done monumental, which is 15,000. I've done Air Force, which is ridiculous number, I think 20,000 and it's put on by the Air Force or whatever. This race is very well made, stocked, maintained, supported, supported. Speaker 2 It may, yeah. I mean, I think there was on the half course, there was non aid stations, you know what? And they all had water Powerade. I mean, maybe not everyone had everything, but it was mostly water Powerade. And what I what I did think was cool is I don't, I think GOO might have been a sponsor, but there was like almost every aid station had like the packets of GOO, which was, yeah, usually, you know, you might have one or two stops that have those, but they had them in again, I don't want to say it was every single one, but probably at least half of the aid stations. You know, they had, they had packets of goose, so that was cool. Now the aid stations were kind of on the, I'll say they were kind of on the smaller end, just like running, like there may be only a handful of people working them or whatever. So just like navigating in and out of them was a little bit was a little bit harder than other races, but but they were always people working on them and handing them out. You know, they were doing everything they could, put it that way. And they had lots of stuff, so. Navigating the Course's Bridges and Highway Sections You know with with that aged and then from your memory does did mostly a stations also have like 1123 porta potties there as well or? Speaker 2 Yeah, I mean, several of them did. And then because I guess a lot of the race was through parks and stuff and trails, like there were like signs pointing to bathrooms that are just just there all the time. So I I didn't stop at any. But you had options if you want if you needed to. Speaker 1 I think I'd rather go 20 yards off course to go to a full flesh. Sure, they use a porta potty that's right on the I mean, it's it's 20-30 yards. I'd rather just. Speaker 2 I'm with you. Yeah, it's rare I've stopped during races for for porta potties or anything but. Speaker 1 Yeah. Speaker 2 You know, I'm with you in general. Like certainly like after races I've done that, like I've walked to nearby businesses or something instead of going to porta potties. But, but well, yeah, I'm with you though. But yeah, I think there's plenty of options in that way. Speaker 1 Now, OK, so OK with the main four bridges, I, I remember, I, I kind of remember how the seven bridges works, but I don't know if the full, if, if four bridges takes the same course. How how, how was the course laying? Do you, do you cross that first bridge? Because you start on, I'm going to call it the northern part of the river, because you're right there at the river. Yeah, I'm going to, I'm going to call the northern part just for simplicity. Do you, I remember you run about maybe a half a mile and you start going across the river to the South. Is that is that the same for the seven or for the four? Speaker 2 Yeah, I'm pretty sure, may not be 100% that sure on this, but I'm pretty sure like the full runs the whole half course pretty much. So like everything, like everything you run in the half, I think is in the full course for the most part, like at least the bridges, I think so anyway, there might be a little bit of a spot somewhere, but the full doesn't run. But I, I, I think I seem to remember seeing some marathon runners when I was running over those bridges and certainly saw them later. So, and I'll say like, I guess again, because of the weather being what it was, like the bridges were pretty slick running on them. I mean, it was neat. Like again, Chattanooga doesn't really, they did like, I think it's a neat aspect to run over the water. I like running over the water and stuff. And it was pretty, it just kind of made it harder to run on those services. Like I think the first bridge, I don't know how you describe it was like a, it was like a like a metal surface almost. In some ways. It was like, I don't know how you I don't even know what it's called, but it was slick running on it just because it did rain so much. And then like one of the other bridges was wood, so it was kind of slick, you know, yes, So but yeah, they're cool. I mean, it's they do a good job of integrating them and you know, I'm sure the full, you know, it's going over three other bridges, so. Speaker 1 I remember, I remember we went over. I didn't. I didn't remember the metal bridge, but I do remember you kind of run alongside a highway on the second bridge, which the cars are. I mean it's kind of early morning but still. And there's cones but like I'd rather run head on then the cars coming from behind. Speaker 2 Yeah, I'm with you. I don't think I like the courses all like there was definitely parts of it that were I didn't love and that was one of them like running down the highway. And there's been a couple other races I've had to do some more things. But, and because like the highway was all open, obviously, and I think we were in the right two lanes or something like that. And, and the cars were coming now there wasn't a ton of traffic like you said. So it wasn't like, I didn't feel unsafe necessarily, but you know, just kind of different, like they're, you know, when you're running on a highway, it's just like, oh, OK, like hope this is OK. But but it was fine. I mean, it, it, it worked out fine, but there was a couple of parts of the course that were kind of like, oh, OK, but you know, when you're trying to get 1326 miles in or whatever, it's hard to make it all fantastic either, so. Speaker 1 That is true now. Why This Course Makes Personal Records Difficult So you go across the Meadow bridge, you go across the highway. So that's concrete. You cross back over a different bridge. I can't remember where that one is. It didn't because you kind of because the the, the full we come on, we come across the highway and then we we make a right at the bottom and then we kind of run behind the starting area for the for the race. And and if you're if you're fast enough, you can see the starters for the half. I'm I'm not that fast but. Speaker 2 Yeah, I think that's mean. I, I think the first bit of the race is the same. I'm kind of, I'm looking at the course maps now and they look, it looks pretty much the same for like that bull corridor you're talking about. It just looks like the marathon goes further out than the half, which makes sense. But I've done most of the half courses on the full course. Speaker 1 OK, yeah, there's somewhere there's, but we end up, I remember we, I forget what the gentleman I ran with, he was from Florida, I believe, and he was counting the bridges and there's, there's seven big bridges. But then there's like pedestrian trail bridges. I think we end up counting like 15 total. Speaker 2 Yeah, 'cause you run over. So there's a pedestrian bridge, I guess actually is they're, you know, about to close it or it's closed right now in Chattanooga. But there was open for the race. I think that was the last bridge. That was a bridge that was like the last bridge we ran over. And I think that's the last bridge for the marathon too. Because like like I feel like the marathon split off from the half and then it comes back to it because I started seeing the mile marker for the full towards the end of the race. So it must like run further out and then rejoin, if that makes sense. Speaker 1 It it. Yeah, it does. And that that one of the problems that you have with races over the years, because the two years I ran Seven Bridges, it had two different courses. And the first year I ran it, it ran along a boardwalk for like 3 miles of wooden boardwalk and it was beautiful. I mean it was absolutely beautiful. But if you had to push off, you know that. Yeah, the push off you would you would start to slip. So I kind of worried, wondered how the the faster runners because I was pacing I believe 5:30 that year. I kind of wondered how the three 30s or the fours, how they would do in that section. Speaker 2 Yeah. I mean honestly like so again, just because of the weather like this. So I'm usually I kind of I'm a lot of times I'm under like the 150 mark and a half. That's kind of that's I'm usually in the the the mid one 40s or so, the weather being what it was and just kind of some of the circumstances. I didn't really, I wasn't really pushing much. So this was one of my solar haves I've ever done. But I think it would have been hard to push this race in many ways just because a lot like there's big part of the race where you run here. It's like an Outback, I guess, for a part of the race where you're running out and other people are coming the other way and it's there's not a lot of space. So like you're kind of like, you know, people are coming both ways and you know, you're kind of having to dagger in and out depending on who's coming the other way. And you know, there's some, some pretty tight turns. Like I remember the turn around specifically was real tight. Like, like, I don't, I don't really know how I could have just like, you know, let loose, so to speak, or like really run fast. You know, if I, if I, if that had been my, my intent, you know, because it would have been, it would have been a, it would have been a tough race to do that. And I, I kind of read some of the people saying that that like locals don't necessarily try to PR in that rate in this race. I'm sure that's part of it. Just the course design makes it difficult in some ways. I wouldn't say it was a super hilly race. I wouldn't say it was flat, but it's just, yeah, I definitely like. And then again with the rain, like there was like giant puddles and some of the paths and stuff, they kind of had to go around. So I mean, it was definitely like a lot to kind of navigate around and that made it difficult to like if you were trying to hit a certain time or something to you know, it would have been, it would have been hard. Enjoying Chattanooga's Scenic Course and Underrated Beauty Yes, now I will say so we that the last bridge you hit that that's AI think they're I don't know if they're resurfaced. I know they're doing some work. I just don't know what work they're doing. I think it's a beautiful bridge. I love it, especially when you're coming in at 5 and a half, six hours for the full. There's a lot more families along that bridge. I don't know if you had a lot of families. Well, if you start at 7:30, you're coming across at like 9. You're probably getting other recreational runners or people not in the race. Speaker 2 Well, the pedestrian bridge was closed to the, it's closed to the public right now. So I didn't really experience that. So it was I, I don't really remember there being anyone else on it other than the runners and it's probably because they couldn't be. And I remember Sarah mentioning that too, that like she wouldn't have been able to go on the bridge. So I don't know if that's open normally to the but I'm sure it is like open normally to the public at their normally would be out there during the race. But from my experience, yeah, from my experience, I don't know at all what they're like you said maybe they're resurfacing. I think it must be a pretty massive project because there was a lot of signs and people talking about it. But yeah, but it there were, there was just they only had it open for the runners basically. Speaker 1 OK, that was, yeah, it was, it was, it was, it was, it was a hill. It was a beautiful course. I just, I just regret certain aspects that you didn't get to. Did you go past the the Art Museum? I believe it is. Speaker 2 Yeah, that was on there. I remember seeing that you you go by the aquarium. Like I said, I knew like the aquarium, if you if you've been there, you've seen it, like it, it, it's kind of lit up in a special way that you can kind of notice it when you're running. Yeah. And I definitely like I, you know, I try to when you're doing these races, taking the views. And there were definitely some cool ones just like running over the bridges and and you know, the leaves weren't really changing the way that I'd probably hoped they would have at this point in the year to like went to the park. It was still pretty green. I think, you know, even a couple weeks from now, that would probably would have been a lot prettier than what I saw. But and then I guess that I mean, it was just the weather was was it wasn't raining during the race, but it had rained a lot leading into. So it just made it, it made it, it dampen some of that probably. But I mean, Chattanooga itself is a pretty city. I mean, we did Lookout Mountain, Rock City the day before. So I mean, and that's that's very pretty. You know, up of Lookout Mountain, you can they say you can see seven different states at once, which is neat. Yeah. I don't know if you've ever been up there, but it's that's really cool. And like just Chattanooga as a whole, like driving over the bridges at night and stuff. I mean, I really thought, you know, just as a whole, I think Chattanooga is kind of a underrated city in many ways. You know, you don't really hear a lot of people talking about it, but, you know, I thought it was it's a clean, pretty safe city. And, you know, I feel like the race hits on that so. The Downhill Finish and Family-Friendly Post-Race Fun So you go out and come back, it's kind of a, it's kind of a Outback in the middle there. But you do cross the Fort bridges. You see some sites, unfortunately, I wish, I wish you would have had the better experience of the leaf changing colors and things of that nature, 'cause that really, that really is a it makes it a little bit, it makes a little bit better 'cause especially when you're out there, you know, some people, they're struggling more so than others. And having more to look at changes your, your perception of pain, your perception your. Yeah. Speaker 2 Yeah, I mean, I definitely like, there's definitely like parts, like I like running over water, you know, so like running over the bridges and stuff. Like I was looking forward to that and it was good. The park, for the most part, you can't really see the river when you're in the park. I think you can see it through, you know, you can see it at times. But so, you know, with it kind of mostly being green, it wasn't maybe necessarily seeing it because it could have been. But overall, I mean, it's a pretty course like you said. I mean, it's definitely, you know, you can kind of get lost in the nature of it and that's, that always helps me to kind of forget what I'm doing. Speaker 1 Yeah, I understand that, that, that yeah. So you get back, you get to the, you get back to the, the finish area down that that race, that's a downhill finish like for a block or so. Speaker 2 Yeah, so you know, Sarah said the same thing. She said it's going to be a downhill finish and the last mile to me was the worst one. So overall with Hells and you're right, I think the last like maybe .1 or so is pretty down, which is good. But like the the the ramps, I don't I guess it's could you call a ramp getting on and off the The Walking bridge? I mean that was pretty steep and then there was another pretty steep part. I mean, it was a I don't have to look back at like my watch elevation and all that, but I mean, I, I would imagine that was, if not the steepest mile, you know, but one of them. And then I do think like you, you kind of make a turn at the end where you can see the finish and it's kind of downhill. So you're right, like it does finish downhill, but that's to me like it's a little misleading to say it finishes downhill because IIA lot of it, you're going a lot of uphill to get to that, I guess. Speaker 1 That yeah, see in that and yeah, that that now. OK, so you finally, you finally hit the downhill and then you come across you have the art Expo going on or the art fair or the art. Speaker 2 Yeah, I don't know. The art fair was going on. Maybe they may, maybe they had to cancel because of the weather the day of the race. It was going on the day before, I'm sure. But I don't like we walked in that area the next day, like the day of the race and they weren't there. So I don't know if it wasn't supposed to be there or if they just had to cancel it because it rained so much. But but yeah, we were in the same area, like where the packet pickup was. And you know, the start and finish is on the same spot. And I mean, it's a nice little area and I wouldn't say it's the biggest after party or anything. And but I think we got a free donut or something else. It was a smoothie. It was like a little smoothie drink. So that was good and and we ended up going back to the carousel I mentioned earlier to take to take my daughter on the on the ride. So I mean, there's definitely like like the part of the problem is like it did start like pouring not long after I finished. So we couldn't really, we didn't really linger around too much, but that there's definitely like area around it that you can walk around and enjoy. We ended up going back to that area later while the marathon was kind of finishing and, and, and just kind of wandering around a little bit because it is pretty like it's right there on the river. And you know what, I did the traditional finish line photo, you know, right there with the river in the background. And like I said, you got that carousel and some other or some other elements of the park. And so I mean, there's definitely like kind of things right there to to check out. Discussing Race Photos Amidst AWS Server Outage OK, now, well, I don't know if you know as if they're recording right now. Things are still being affected by the AWS servers being down Amazon world, Amazon world something, but the servers for Amazon is messing up a lot of things right now as if it's recording. Do you remember if they had free free race day photos or was it pay or was it or do you recall at all? Speaker 2 I think they're free because they mentioned that in the e-mail they sent out about it, that there was photos taken and that they are, you're tagged in them. I, I miss, unless that's just like, oh, you're tagged in them. And they kind of like some other races where they show you on, but you have to buy them. They actually, you know, not get the watermarks on them or whatever. But yeah, I, I'd have to look to know for sure. And like I said, they're not actually available to me yet because of the outage, but I I I'm expecting them to be free I guess, but I might be. Speaker 1 Wrong it. And I'm, I'm trying to, I'm trying to remember what I did. But I mean, it's, I think I've ran, I don't know, 10 marathons since I've ran that marathon. I I ran that last in 22. Speaker 2 OK, so I'm looking at previous years and it does look like they're they have like the watermarks and they're like buy your photos. So they must not be free unless it's. Speaker 1 Well, shucks. Speaker 2 Yeah, that's that's. Speaker 1 Unfortunate. I just did MO Cowbell in St. Charles, MO just north of Saint Louis for those unfamiliar and they had they had free race photos and sometimes with the smaller races you're you're more likely to get those free photos. Speaker 2 Yeah, I feel like it's more of them are paid than not, but I appreciate when the races do them for free. That's always nice. Speaker 1 And that that's part of the reason why you should do marathon, because when you run marathons, there's more opportunities for the photographers to take your picture. So. Speaker 2 Sure, you're running twice as long. That makes sense. But you know, then you also have to, you also have to run twice as long. So there's a there's a trade off there, but sure, right, You'll, you'll get more photos when you know when you do so. Reviewing Race Swag and Enjoying Chattanooga with Family And sometimes you get a bigger metal. But Speaking of the metal, how was the metal for the four bridges? Speaker 2 Yeah, I mean, I can't give it a whole lot, to be honest. I mean, it was pretty generic. I mean, it's OK. I mean, there's nothing wrong with it, but I mean, it's fine. I wouldn't say it's one. I wouldn't call it particularly unique or anything, but it was, it's fine. I mean, I feel like I saw some other previous years ones that were, I feel like we're better than the one I got. But you know, the shirt too, I mean, it was fine. It's a, you know, it's a shirt I'll wear at least occasionally. But yeah, I mean, I, I have other medals that I that I think are a lot neater than that one, but there's nothing wrong with it. Speaker 1 And I mean, sometimes with, I mean, me, you and I were talking, we've ran, we've ran Derby, I believe, 789 times. And some years of medals are very impressive and some years it's like, well, this is a medal, right? Speaker 2 Yeah, I mean, you do know these races, like I don't get too hung up on the medals for the most part, to be honest. Like, I mean, you know, I think some of them are neater than others. And you know, like you said, they're like very year by year in the same race. Like it's not so you know, but it's this one I wouldn't say is, I would say it's on the lower end of the metals I've gotten, but it's fine. Like there's something particularly wrong with it. It's just not necessarily unique either. Speaker 1 OK, so yeah, I don't even, I don't even know where I think about our hanging on my wall. Well, basically behind me is is in my Zoom meeting. I don't even. I'd have to go look through all of it, but it would take way too long to try to find those medals, Would you? So what did you? Well, normally I'd ask what did you do to celebrate, but it sounds like you all went to the carousel. Speaker 2 Yeah, it is what we did. We we well, we went back to the Airbnb and I showered and what not and we, we were all even coming back home that day. So we packed the car and everything and, and then we took him up. Well, we did. We walked back to the finish area and took a couple pictures. And then, like you said, our big celebration was, was riding a free carousel with, with our daughter. So that was that was the celebration. So when you got kids, you know, but there's not, I'll say this about, I mean, I don't think I've ever been in a, a different city with, with a free carousel in the middle of the park. It was, it was, you know, for a parent that was, that was, that was good. You know, like I said, my daughter would have wrote it. I think she wrote it five times the first day and seven times the second day. So, and she probably would have wrote it 15 more times. So, you know, so I made her happy. So that makes me happy. Speaker 1 Yes, that's yeah, it's it's, it gets, it's fun. Speaker 2 Yeah, I'll say this, like for people like travel with kids, like I think Chattanooga is a good city to take families too. I just, I found it very safe. Like, you know, you, if you've never been there, the aquarium and the kids center, they're both really well done. They have a zoo and the zoo's not the biggest zoo, but it's fun. I mean, it's a good zoo. You know, they had, I think we stumbled on like two different playgrounds just like walking around that were cool. So, you know, there's, there's a lot to do just like family wise, like I've been to other cities that well was like much harder to take a 2 year old too. And this one in that way. So, you know, it just, I, I definitely, you know, I think chatted, I guess I think Chattanooga as a whole is, it is a good city. I mean, I think it's kind of underrated. You don't really hear people talk about going there or doing things there, but you know, it has a lot to offer, especially for, you know, a weekend or something like that. I mean a lot to do. Exploring Unique Attractions and Local Race Organization There is AI, remember we went one year, one year that we were there for something, probably a race, I don't know. They have a tow truck, Hall of Fame and museum. Speaker 2 OK, I didn't see that. You know, I wanted to. You, you, you know, you were talking about your Moon Pie beer earlier. I love moon pies. I think they're delicious. And you know, I wanted to, I meant to, I meant to go over by that general store and to get a chance because it was a little bit further away than where we ended up eating. But you know, that's where the, I guess the moon pie factory is there. So like, that's cool. Like, you know, I didn't, I was there like, and if you like moon pies, like I don't, I think they're delicious. I don't think Sarah likes them much, but. Speaker 1 Well, who likes Sarah anyway? Kind of feel like Ricky Bobby. Ricky Bobby and big Big Red gum. I feel like Big Red. Never mind. And then and then. The Chattanooga Choo Choo is there. Speaker 2 Yeah, yeah, they got a lot of trains and then they got the Baseball My way baseball team. So they're off season right now and they're actually building those like a brand new baseball stadium for the team that we passed the construction of. So, you know, that was cool. I mean, that's cool. I think that'll, you know, we're kind of talking about that like, oh, this is be something to check out. You know, once it's once it's built and they're there, the current stadium, I don't know if you see it much from the race, but if you're in downtown Chattanooga, you can you can usually see the current stadium because it's just like sitting up on a hill. And I don't know what they're going to do with that now that I guess the minor league team's not going to be there. But, you know, it's cool, you know. Yeah. I mean, I don't like as a whole, like I said, I have a lot of positive things to say about Chattanooga. I just wish the weather had been better for the race. You know, I just. But this is what it is. You know, luck of the draw in that way. Speaker 1 I mean, you can, I mean, we, we try to find, you know, a, a race that's well organized, well planned out, well laid out. And then you can control so much. You can try to control or whatever, so much of the race. But the ultimate thing about about our our sport, our hobby, our activity is that it's outdoors. And whatever it is, that's what it is. Speaker 2 Yeah. I mean, and like I said, I'll get that race a lot of credit for giving people the option to defer because like, I don't know that many races are going to give you that option. You know, they'll just wake up and decide I'm I don't want to run. You know, if you're a local or something, I'm sure that, you know, I'll probably would have considered that a lot more. But so, you know, I I think it is like locally produced. It seemed to be. So you know, you tend to that. Those are the kind of races I like doing that are kind of just more, you know, it's not the big production companies that, you know, I have races throughout the country. It's, you know, like a like a local team that's putting it on. I mean those, those, those seem to be the better experiences to me. Speaker 1 They really are, They really are. Considering a Return to the Race and Discussing Running Gear Would you run this race again? Speaker 2 Yeah. I mean, I, I would probably like to see it like in a non weather related situation I guess if that's if that makes sense. Like, I just think the experience I had probably wasn't the best foot forward for the race in many ways. I I just think I probably would have enjoyed it more had I not had that hanging over my head leading into the race. And then can I had the full with like, you know, plodding around it for the start and what not. But you know, it's close. I got to live in Louisville. So like, you know, 4 under 5 hours to get there. So it's definitely like doable to get there. And I think the city as a whole has a lot to offer. So, you know, if it made sense to do it again. Yeah, I don't, I wouldn't, I would not do it, put it that way. I mean, we tend to do different races for the most part, you know, to get different experiences. But you know, if it made sense to go back there and and and do it again, yeah, I'd do it. OK. Speaker 1 So the two questions I was asked that that have nothing to do with this particular race is what shoes do you run in and what watch do you run in, run, run with. Speaker 2 So I run in. Usually it's like ASICS jail. I think they're well, I think I've usually we're, we're jail contend sevens and now they might be up to eights that I just I, I wait till they go on sale and buy a bunch of them and then, you know, so I don't think that those are the fanciest shoes or they're on the cheaper end, but they work well for me. I think I but one time I did try to wear a different pair of shoes. I got injured. So I went back to them and you know, I haven't had any issues. Watch was it's a Garmin VO active 4S, which again, I don't think is I've had it for like 5 years now. But I like it because it plays. You can download Spotify playlist to it and obviously tracks your miles and all that and syncs with the Garmin app. So it does what I needed to do. I know there are watchers out there that do a lot more, but you know, it plays music for me and tracks my mouth. That's really what I need. Speaker 1 Yeah, that's the one thing I try to get it with that question is because some people they they get hung up too much on what shoes a particular person wears. And I wear the shoes that fit my feet. And I was running with my Phoenix 6X and then the Phoenix 6X only has 64 colors. And the Garmin 965, the both of those are Garmin. By the way, the Garmin 965 has like 5000 colors or something like that. Basically it's full color and it's much more vivid and it's a AMOLED display versus AOLED either either way. The other ones more of a matte MIPS display, memory and pixel. The Phoenix 6 XI believe it's a memory and pixel with 64 colors, whereas the 6965 is a full color display and it's AMOLED which means it's more vivid, it's more pronounced, it chews up battery life a lot faster. That was the the main reason though that I switched to the 965 was that the map function because I travel a bit and I like using the map function when I travel. The map looks better when I look at my watch to look at what time it is. It, it, it, it looks a little better than the the 6X looked in my opinion and I wanted it. But my son he he started golfing and he still uses my He started using my 6X for golfing. But then we went out golfing the other day and the 965, which is a newer device, didn't have all the golf features that the 6X had. Speaker 2 Interesting. Speaker 1 However, yeah, so means. Speaker 2 Like what you're going to use it? I mean like how you're going to use it. Like for me it was important. Like I don't wear my watch usually just like out and about like everything I wear it to run or any something like that. And so like, to me like, I just needed something that I have Spotify and that I can download playlist too and listen to music and that I can track my miles. And it does that, you know, the Garmin app, I'm sure you know, most people, a lot of people use that, that, you know, it loads all that to it. And I can, I want to look back and see like what I ran in different months or years or whatever. Like all that history is pretty easy to find in the app and you know, it syncs fine. And I mean, the battery life's held up well. I'm sure it'll stop at some point, but I mean. Speaker 1 Eventually. Speaker 2 I've got no complaints, yeah. Speaker 1 Yeah, so I mean, in heck, the the 6X I've used to have a active fit. I don't even know what that the model when I bought it was brand new for $150.00 back in 2016. And I trained up until three weeks before my fastest marathon with that watch. So like my fastest marathon, I trained with the cheapest watch I've ever owned. Yeah. I mean, so like, and if you don't go to wear it every day, all day, you know, I, I started wearing mine all day, just I like the smart watch features, but that's that's me and you know. Speaker 2 Yeah, I don't need to be that connected to everybody, but yeah. But yeah, I mean, I don't like, I think watches are good for like when you're going on the long runs to, you know, to keep you honest and so you know, how far you ran and you know, roughly what pace, But like, you know, I mean, the watch is perfect too. Like there's times where I know it's not necessarily as accurate as I would like it to be, just like tracking mileage and stuff. So, you know, you kind of take over a grain of salt, right? I mean, so I mean, you know, I'd, I'd, I'm not the type to go spend a lot of money on something just to spend a lot of money on something. I mean, I, I just want something that works and that's reliable and that's what I needed to do. So what mine does? Concluding Remarks, Chattanooga Recommendations, and Podcast Outro OK, well, I'm going to remind everybody or Ron, ask, beg. I don't know. I ain't begging yet. Like subscribe, share, send it to a friend, send it to a foe, send it to a loved one. If you're looking, if you're trying to think of a different race to do a, a, a race occasion, send it to a, you know, send it to somebody that hey, you know, send it to your, your brother or sister, brothers, cousin, uncle Fran, grandpa, you know, hey, let's, let's go to Chattanooga. There's, there's a, actually, there's a, there's a train ride you can do that, that has a dinner card on it. So like there's, there's things to do for both you and the non runner. So like, you know, share, like subscribe, comment. If you can appreciate all those things, remember to do those things. Otherwise the porta potties will have no toilet paper for you. That that's that. That'll be your curse. So is there anything you want to, well, I mean, so it's not subscribing. Is there anything you'd like to add before we close out? Speaker 2 Yeah, I mean, I definitely would recommend the race. Like I said, Chattanooga is a good city. I mean, I think that's my biggest take away. Just like with the city as a whole, like you don't really hear people. I don't, I always, I don't, I don't hear people talking about going to Chattanooga. It's definitely a place I would go back to and you know, if you're within driving distance of it, I mean, it's definitely like, you know, it it it's a good city to go to. And it's like you sit like you were kind of saying like my wife didn't run and my daughter Claire didn't run. And like, and I guess like the whole, you know, they had the half but and the full, but they also have a get the, there's a 10 KA 5K and A and a Kitty K that we almost, we almost signed them up for the Kitty K, but and it's glad we didn't because it rained a lot during it. But you know, so like, like even if there's like a smaller distance, I guess somebody does a longer distance, somebody does a shorter distance, you could get away with that. So it's definitely, you know, a good experience overall. And it's not a like I've been to a lot bigger cities, but Chattanooga is not a hard city to navigate. Like it's pretty easy to get around. And you know, race isn't, you know, it's not a small it it's not a big race, but it's not a small race either. I mean, I think about 2000 runners and a half and you know, it's so it's you know, I don't know how many in the full and what not, but you know, so you know, there's several thousand people out there at the end of the day. So you know, it's, it's definitely a a good experience overall. Just maybe you know, not as not as a big of a city as some others, but still good. Speaker 1 OK, awesome. Well, thank you. Thank you for your time. Thank you for everything. By the way, this is the same Gavin that got the shout out in the Kentucky Derby episode that gave a tour to in in Churchill Demps. Speaker 2 Yeah, I think she called me Colin or Cullen or something. Yeah. Speaker 1 She it, it took her a bit to get around to. She got around to it. She got. Speaker 2 Around to it, she only met me once so I'll go back. Speaker 1 Yeah, OK. But thank you for joining us. Thank you for taking us on a tour through Chattanooga. I just want to remind everybody to run the race that you are in and remember that Ford is a pace.