Contributed Photo
Runners take off at the start of this year’s StumpJump 50-kilometer trail
race at Signal Mountain Middle/High School. More than 600 people competed in
the event.

When the StumpJump 50k started nine years ago, about 10 people showed up to run through the woods for hours. Fifty kilometers are just over 31 miles, and the trail aspect adds to the difficulty.

Despite the challenge, more than 600 people took part in this year’s StumpJump event, which included an11-mile option in addition to the 50k that had 244 finishers ranging in age from 18 to 68. The race’s organizers say it is among the largest 50k races in the United States.

“We had 20 states represented in this race, so we are really raising Chattanooga’s profile across the country as a destination for outdoor recreation,” said Mark McKnight, marketing director for Rock/Creek.

Last week, organizers posted a video of the race on Rock/Creek’s Web site, rockcreek.com. The video, made by Andrew Kornylak, features interviews with race participants and footage of runners out on the trail.

The Oct. 3 race began and ended at Signal Mountain Middle/High School. Part of the Rock/Creek Trail Running Series, it raised more than $13,000 for the Wilderness Trail Running Association, also known as “the Boonies.” The money raised for education and conservation makes the StumpJump more than just a race, McKnight said.

He and Jonathan Mobley, race director for the trail running series, said the Signal Mountain event brings attention to conservation of wilderness areas and to the sport of trail running, which is growing in popularity in the Chattanooga area.

The sport has become especially popular among younger runners, McKnight said.

“A lot of the high school and college sports are not attainable for most people — and you are pretty much going to become a spectator past college — but trail running is something you can do your entire life,” he said.

Volunteers spent several hundred hours preparing the course in advance of the race. Groups from the Cumberland Trail Conference and several high schools — including Signal Mountain, East Hamilton and Ooltewah — were among the workers.

“It’s great to get these kids out there and get them to see a quality event,” McKnight said, “but also give them an opportunity to get a sense of what it means to volunteer in their community and be an active member of an event like this.”

The Boonies will use the race proceeds to boost the nonprofit group’s efforts to gain access to new trails and maintain existing trail systems. A Boonies priority is to encourage the sport of trail running as a part of healthy living, which gets people out on trails they may have never seen before. That, in turn, encourages wilderness conservation in the area.

“It’s hard to convince people to spend money and time toward protecting wilderness areas if they don’t get out there and use them,” McKnight said. “The more we get people out on these trails and really appreciating how beautiful it is — the more we can encourage that — the more land we are going to have to pass on to future generations.”

2009 race top finishers

Men: 1. Joshua Wheeler, Boone, N.C., 4:15:00. 2. Nicholas Selbo, Chattanooga, 4:21:53. 3. Bryan Dayton, 4:34:57.

Women: 1. Sally Brooking, Marietta, Ga., 5:37:28. 2. Jaclyn Greenhill, Signal Mountain, 5:45:10. 3. Emily Ansick, Auburn, Ala., 5:51:39.