Chickamauga Battlefield - A Marathon and Odd Camping Adventure

[Thrill Shakespeare (Andy) 58]

 

 

Hello All!  This will be a short and sweet trip report.  I spent part of this weekend traveling to Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia, for the Chickamauga Battlefield Marathon.  This is my favorite marathon -- I've run it 3 times before -- but I have not been able to run it for 4 years.  This is part of my preparations for yet another Disney Marathon (and Half Marathon -- I'm going for another Goofy medal).

 

Now, I have a problem with getting a hotel for my marathon trips.  I hate spending a lot of money for a room that I will only see for a few hours before the race.  That's a waste of hard-earned money that I could be sending to the Mouse.  I like to camp before races when I can, but we do not have a camper at this time.  Setting up a tent by myself and then taking it down early in the morning before the race is a pain -- and potentially disturbing to fellow campers.  Taking down a tent AFTER a marathon could be a painful experience indeed, especially if the race did not go particularly well.  So, I tried a new (for me) idea.  No camper, no tent, no RV -- but camping all the same.

 

What did I do?  How did the race go?  These questions and many others absolutely nobody cares about will be answered soon. 

[sherryberry 35]

What did you do? How did the race go? You've got my attention!

[CCIntrigue...aka Gwen 547]

 

What did I do?  How did the race go?  These questions and many others absolutely nobody cares about will be answered soon. 

 

I'm awaiting an answer!

[mouseketab.....Carol 1,261]

Can't wait to read more! Camped at Chickamauga before, nice place.

[GaDawgFan.....Kelly 799]

I'm in!

[DaveInTN 3,247]

I am picturing you sleeping in your car.  

[mommy rainbo.....Bo 41]

Or a mini van? We had a k9 business for a while and we could get a dog or two and a camping cot in the back of my Chevy venture. With a cooler and my laptop for movies I was set for the night. At least until Elvis or Ferro wanted to share the cot.

[momof3kids-Yvonne 594]

I'm in too!

[Thrill Shakespeare (Andy) 58]

Thank you all for joining this madness.  I wasn't sure if I would have any passengers for the journey -- the company is appreciated.

 

The first challenge for me was getting to Fort Oglethorpe in the first place.  Macon, where I live, is about 185 miles away.  On the positive side, it's a direct shot straight up I-75 with only about 7 miles to go after the exit.  The down side?  I-75 goes directly through Atlanta.  Ah, the ATL.  How I love it.  Some days I just bask in the thoughts of the lovely hours I have spent sitting in the middle of a major interstate parking lot enjoying the scenery. Good times, good times.

 

I am a theatre teacher, so leaving work early is a bit of an ordeal.  I prefer to save my personal leave for the vital things in life.  You know, trips to Fort Wilderness.  So, I worked the full day.  DramaMama and the DramaBoys^tm were kind enough to meet me after school so I could say goodbye before hitting the road.

 

And hit the road I did.  I made great time which had me hitting Atlanta right at rush hour.  This added an hour to my driving time and gave me plenty of time to ponder deep thoughts about the nature of man and my place in the universe.  Usually I do not worry too much about getting somewhere on a trip at a particular time.  However, I was trying to pick up my race packet before registration closed at 8:00 PM.  For those of you who have not run a race before, runners are required to check in for a race and pick up a packet that includes their bib number, timing device, t-shirt, and (sometimes) other goodies.  Some marathons require this to be done the day before both to save hassle in the morning and to force the runners to walk through the expo of vendors (Disney, I'm looking at you!)  Chickamauga will allow you to pick up your packet in the morning before the race, but it is SO much easier if you can do it before.

 

Long story short, it was close.  I drove right by my campground without checking in and drove the remaining 7 miles to a church in Fort Oglethorpe.  I made it at 7:50 PM -- not bad considering.  As usual, the Chickamauga packet pickup was extremely well-organized in the church's gym.  I got my race number (with built-in RFID timing), great t-shirt, hat, race instructions, and a Moon Pie.  Nice.  You have to love a race that starts you off with a good ol' Moon Pie.  They had a few vendors in the gym as well, trading mainly in those lovely emergency things runners have to have for races.  I would go into it now, but you would either be bored or appalled.  Probably bored.  I'll disgust you with it later perhaps...

 

 

The race shirt.  Wow, the image is huge.  I'll shrink it down a bit later.

 

 

And the race hat.  This is NOT a usual bit of swag from a marathon.  Very nice.

 

 

 

 

I made it back to the campground -- the Lookout Mountain/Chattanooga South KOA in Ringgold, Georgia, a little after 8:00 PM.  It looked about as inhabited as River Country does these days.  I found the office locked up, but a flyer was taped to the door with my name and site number on it.  Good enough.

 

Coming next...my creative camping solution, an impressive (and terrifying) number of rocks, interesting site assignments, and an alarming morning moment.

[DaveInTN 3,247]

I am now thinking that you built a nest high in a tree like a squirrel.  

[Thrill Shakespeare (Andy) 58]

I am now thinking that you built a nest high in a tree like a squirrel.  

 

Okay, my solution was not THAT creative.  Besides, trees were hard to come by in my site.  It was more of a rock quarry than a forest.  But more on that later...

[Katman1356...Jason 1,140]

I am in. Can't wait to see how you camper? Hammock tent?

[Beckers 1,136]

I'm in, as long as there is no running required!

[Thrill Shakespeare (Andy) 58]

I'm in, as long as there is no running required!

 

No worries -- I did enough running for everyone. :)

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

I'm in.

 

I can't wait to hear about the creative camping.

 

But I am more interested in the appalling/disgusting things the vendors had for sale at the church.

 

When did you eat your Moon Pie?

 

TCD

[Thrill Shakespeare (Andy) 58]

But I am more interested in the appalling/disgusting things the vendors had for sale at the church.

 

When did you eat your Moon Pie?

 

Oh, the things themselves are not disgusting, but non-runners are often a bit put-off by some of the things runners often do to prep for a marathon.  I'll definitely go into that -- it will be both instructive and disquieting.  Much like my life.

 

As far as the Moon Pie, I saved it for after the race. Little did I know that they would give me another one after the race was over.  Bonus!

[wdwpoohbear...Jennifer 40]

I'm in...can't wait to hear more (more you're creative camping solution than the interesting things at the booths at the church).

[Beckers 1,136]

Running causes potty issues. I'm scared to hear lol

[Thrill Shakespeare (Andy) 58]

Back to the story:

 

After finding my site number taped to the door of the office, I set out to find it.  The tent/pop-up section was almost completely deserted -- not exactly a shock considering the time of year and the cold temperatures.  Turns out there were only three families camping in that area -- including me.  Of course with all of this room where do they have us?  Packed into a row, of course.  They also did not have the bath house open in our area (which I understand considering the small numbers) which meant a good walk to the bathrooms behind the office.  It was amusing to walk past dozens of empty spaces between me and the bathroom.  Interesting.

 

It's not like the spaces we were assigned were good either.  They were rock.  Not some rock, all rock.  All rock, all the time.  In fact, if you are planning to visit Rock City in Chattanooga you can camp here and sleep in rock city too.  There were many more inviting sites -- just not for us poor suckers.  Thankfully, I did not bring a tent.  That would have been seriously uncomfortable.

 

The official KOA campground map:

 

 

 

What the map should have been as far as I was concerned...

 

Okay, that's a bit of an exaggeration.  A bit.  Besides, my site did not have any trees.

 

What did I bring for camping?  Well, as many of you have hypothesized I slept in my truck.  I drive an F-150 crew cab truck.  One of the reasons I bought this model in the first place was the huge floor space of the backseat.  I folded up the backseat. We recently got rid of a couch, but I saved the seat cushions.  They fit exactly across the floor.  With the driver's seat pushed all the way forward and a regular pillow filling that additional space, I had enough room to stretch out straight on a slight angle (I'm about 5' 10")  I had a sleeping bag in back, ran an electric cord with power strip through the front passenger window then rolled the window back up to almost seal.  I put a ceramic heater on top of the center console facing back.  I had the reading lamps above me for light and a drink holder centered on the floor.  I even had the DVD player with two monitors my boys use on trips, although I did not watch anything.

 

Here's the real shock: it was comfortable.  Extremely comfortable.  This is very important before a marathon.  The last thing you need before trying to run 26.2 miles is a sore back from an unfamiliar bed.  This is what led me to camping before marathons in the first place.  I could at least have a mattress I knew.  In the truck it was the best of both worlds.  I did have to be my own thermostat since the ceramic heater did too good a job in the small space.  Basically I woke up for a second every 90 minutes to either turn the heater on or off. Worked great and did nothing to take away from my rest.

 

The funny and completely embarrassing part happened in the morning.  I woke right up with my alarm and grabbed the bag with my running clothes to trudge to the bathrooms to get dressed.  I only forgot one thing: when you lock my truck it sets the alarm.  That alarm only is disarmed by using the fob.  When I opened the door, it set off the alarm.  It almost gave me a heart attack.  And so much for being considerate of my fellow campers.  I nearly killed myself trying to dig out my keys.  Luckily they were close at hand, but it seemed like forever.  Nobody got up from the adjoining sites, but I could sense many unhappy thoughts coming my way.  So, that part of the camping experience could use some refinement.

 

Apparently I wasn't the only person who likes camping before a marathon.  Even though it was 5:15 AM, the bathroom was full of others getting ready to run.  I think most of them were from the RVs on the other side of the campground.

 

Coming up in the next installment:  So, how does a marathoner get ready to run?  What does one have to do to the human body to make it function for 26.2 miles?  Is it possible to freeze to death while waiting at the start line? 

[Tri-Circle-D 2,059]

Sleeping in the truck is not as crazy as what I was expecting.  It sounds like a great idea for one person, rather than messing with a tent.

 

Are there no photos of the campsite and your set up?

 

TCD

[GaDawgFan.....Kelly 799]

I was guessing hammock. 

 

Can't wait to hear about the race. After doing a half, I have no idea how people do a full. 

[fladogfan aka Gretchen 259]

Hey Andy,

 

What happened?  Are you OK?  Good idea for camping.  How did the race go?

[Thrill Shakespeare (Andy) 58]

I'm fine, just got caught up in a series of trips -- some with the school I teach at and a recent trip to WDW.  I'll finish this up soon.  Thanks for the reminder.  I had forgotten that I left everyone hanging. Oops.

[lklasing 16]

Just found this but am very interested to hear the answers to all your race questions.  Except the one about whether it is possible to freeze to death at the start line - I know the answer to that one.  Yes!

[Thrill Shakespeare (Andy) 58]

Wow, I have really left this trip report hanging.  Apologies all around!  I'm off to run the Disney Marathon but I WILL return and finish this one up.  The race deserves it -- it was great!