The Ascent 5k Race Report
Stairs, ropes, a killer view, and orange cream soda made for an awesome day outside
Last weekend, I managed to carve out some time away from the impending doom of laundry I have been putting off to hop in my car and drive the six hours to Red River Gorge in Kentucky. I’ve said it here before and I will say it again; the Gorge is my favorite place on Earth. I try to visit it at least once a year, so when I found out that a trail 5k was coming up in that area, I didn’t think twice about signing up. Even though the actual race only lasted about an hour, I still thought it would be nice to recap the experience…and rave about how awesome the RRG is a little more.
I drove down on a Friday and ended up getting settled into my campsite before sunset with just enough time to pick up my bib number and t-shirt. To make things as easy as possible, I booked a site at the Natural Bridge campground which was also where the race took place. It took no time for me to set up my truck tent and get ready for the night. With a box of takeaway sushi I had gotten on the road, I ate and sipped on some electrolytes while the whippoorwills calling out tugged on my heartstrings. Hearing them sing always makes me feel super emotional because it ruffles some old memories of growing up in rural Appalachia. Memories of running through the trees and sleeping in a little A-frame canvas tent at Girl Scout camp. All in all, they remind me of where I come from, so every time I hear them I can’t help but smile.
I remember it being a full moon that night with the entire campground bathed in its glow. Even with it being June, it still got a little chilly. I woke up with condensation water droplets dripping on my head and the sound of people beginning to stir. Someone kept pacing outside of my tent; the crunch of gravel from each step was the final straw that eventually caused me to roll out from my truck bed and get ready for the race.
After changing and scarfing down some oatmeal and coffee, the campground started to become more alive as runners warmed up. It was quite a diverse crowd. Kids, families, seriously intimidating folks with long legs and sports watches, and some loners like myself. I didn’t personally know anyone who was running, but I did end up chatting with a few people before the air horn blew.
The route ran on private property, so it was exciting getting to access parts of the Gorge I will only ever get to see during the race. The first half consisted of long incline sections mixed with some rolling declines and parts with thick underbrush that you had to wade through. I felt really good up until that point and was having a lot of fun. That is until the trail started jutting straight uphill and I seriously began to question my entire existence. There may have been some cussing on the way up as we all climbed steep sets of stairs, but the view was definitely worth it. At the top were some ginormous rock formations and a beautiful sight of the surrounding mountains.
Anyone who has ever taken a science class knows that what goes up must come down, so that is exactly what we did! And boy was it difficult to navigate. It was basically a long straight shot down back to the start line with some occasional sections where repelling from a rope was the only safe option for finishing. Those parts definitely slowed me down, but once I made it through, I just flew the rest of the way and ended up with a time of 54:11.
Afterward, I got a cool medal and sat in the grass with a banana and some Oreos while I watched the other runners come in. It was really awesome to see everyone mingle, but I remember feeling a little lonely and sad that no one I knew was there with me. However, that ended up changing later in the day when my parents drove up to have dinner with me at our favorite pizza joint ever, Miguel’s. I have mentioned this place before and how it creates such an awesome vibe within the Gorge in a previous post listed below. We hung out and enjoyed some Ale-8, Kentucky’s soda of choice. To say it was perfect would be an understatement. Within the time between the race and dinner, I mostly just took it easy at my campsite and tried not to fry my skin from the ridiculously hot summer sun.
Even though I was by myself for most of the trip, I really enjoyed some much-needed downtime. The race was really fun and it was a great way to see how much I have progressed within my own personal trail running journey. With some other races on the horizon, I drove back to St. Louis on Sunday inspired and daydreaming about what is to come later in the summer.
That’s a wrap for today’s post! As always, thanks for tuning in and be on the lookout for more adventure reports later.
See you out on the trail!