WHAT IS THE TRIPLE CROWN?
Triple Crown is a series of bouldering events at three of the premier boulderfields in the Southeast. The goal of the Triple Crown is twofold. First and foremost, the mission is to raise funds for two organizations dedicated to maintaining climbers' access: the Southeastern Climbers' Coalition and The Carolina Climbers' Coalition. These two organizations have been instrumental in the acquisition of land for the climbing community, in a region that is riddled with access issues. Secondly, this unique event will once again provide a tremendous opportunity for vendors to promote the sport of bouldering, which has quickly become the focus of the ever growing climbing community.

Marmot and the Southeastern Climbers Coalition are the main presenters and Rock/Creek is the main retail partner and top supporter of of the series.

Locations Triple Crown begins at Hound Ears just outside Boone, North Carolina. Triple Crown moves next to Horse Pens-40 in Steele Alabama. The Triple Crown culminates at Stone Fort (Little Rock City) located atop Mowbray Mountain just outside of Chattanooga Tennessee.

Check out this great video that Andrew Kornylak shot at the '06 Stone Fort event.

Triple Crown Video by Andrew Kornylak from The Stone Fort 2006 from Rock/Creek on Vimeo.

To Register and find out more about the Triple Crown at www.triplecrownbouldering.org >

Shop for Limited Edition Triple Crown Sandals ($20 of the purchase price goes toward access) >

See the new Triple Crown Edition Marmot DriClime Jackets >

This month's In the City magazine featured the Rock/Creek StumpJump, our most popular trail running race. Now in it's 8th year, the race includes a 50k and 11 mile option. So far we have over 400 people signed up, with roughly fifty spots remaining for each of the distance options. Click here to check out the article online [requires Flash player] or click here to download a PDF version of the article. If you were thinking about signing up, do so today because this race has historically sold out well in advance. Visit the Rock/Creek StumpJump detail page online to sign up today.

Saturday August 9th proved to be another beautiful day in the Rock/Creek race series. The cool August morning brought 95 runners to Chattanooga's Greenway Farm to compete on 5 miles of mixed trail that included sections of gravel, grass and paved trail. Though shorter than other races in the Rock/Creek Trail Series, the race was well attended by both beginning and experienced trail runners. Rock/Creek is happy to report that out of 95 total runners 40% were first time trail racers!

Like other races in the Rock/Creek Trail Series, proceeds from this event support the Boonies Wilderness Trail Running Association, a.k.a. The Boonies. The Greenway 5 Mile Trail Race raised money for trail access and future trail races in the Chattanooga area.

Special thanks goes to the City of Chattanooga's Parks and Rec department for allowing Greenway Farm to be the site of the 6th race in the 2008 Rock/Creek Trail Series. The park was the perfect venue for the short, relaxed race. Greenway Farm, part of the North Chick Greenway, is one of Chattanooga's premier green spaces, if you haven't had the opportunity to to spend an afternoon on the park's comfortable trails, Rock/Creek encourages you to do so.

Rock/Creek would like to additionally thank event sponsors Mountain Hardwear, SmartWool, La Sportiva, Hammer Nutrition and Greenlife Grocery. As always, a special thank you goes out to the individuals from the Rock/Creek race team and the Boonies who dedicated their personal time to the event and its preparation.

Chris Heberer was the first male finisher and Jan Gauthier was the first female to cross the finish line. The top 25 finishers are below, entire results and photos from the event can be found at http://www.rockcreek.com/greenway/.

Next up is the grand daddy of the Rock/Creek Trail Series; the 8th annual Rock/Creek StumpJump 50k.

For those who have run this one in the past you know it's a race that can't be missed. Already about 350 runners from across the country have signed up for this popular event. For runners looking to put in less mileage there is a 11 mile version of the race as well. Both races will take place on October 4th, with a vendor fair and packet pick-up at Rock/Creek's Two North Shore location on October 3rd. Information and registration are online at http://www.rockcreek.com/stumpjump/.

Rock/Creek race team member John Anderson flew out to Utah for the mountainous Wasatch Speedgoat 50K. John gave an outstanding effort and finished in second, just 3 minutes behind the winner. Below is John's story of the race. If you are interested in John's other accomplishment, and the accomplishments of the entire Rock/Creek Race Team, visit their profiles at http://www.rockcreek.com/raceteam.

The Wasatch Speedgoat 50k is based out of Snowbird, Utah and you get the unique experience of being cheered on by people riding up on the tram. You also get the unique experience of feeling your legs go through pain, then numbness, then pain again, and thankfully back to numbness as the course ascends 10,500 ft and descends the same in 50k. The race is directed by Karl Meltzer (several time winner of the Hardrock 100 who will be attempting to break the AT speed record starting on August 9th), and he puts on a great quad smashing race.

We started the day in the cool Wasatch mountains and headed uphill for the initial 4500' climb. By the time we got halfway up there was a lead pack of 4 runners, and Nate McDowell and I chatted about our kids between trying to catch our breath. Luckily for me Nate's daughter has a longer name than my son so he had to talk more. By the time we got to the top, Nate had a couple minute lead on me, and we came crashing down Mt. Baldy, complete with ropes and spotters from Black Diamond and settled in for a long day in the mountains.

The next several hours were spent climbing and descending the newly designed race course, some of it off trail, some singletrack, some on forest service roads, a short stretch through the ski tunnel that connects Snowbird to Alta at around 10,000 ft, and even a little time rolling around on the ground. The La Sportiva Fireblades performed excellently again--perfect for the technical terrain and the steep descents.

When all was said and done, Nate won in 5:43 and I finished up in second in 5:56. Although I did manage to chuck a snowball at Nate as he climbed above me in the final ascent. My ankles are sore and my lips are chapped, but it was a stellar race with outstanding views (and next time I'll remember the lip balm...)

Gear List for race: Patagonia Airius Top, Patagonia Long Haul Runners, La Sportiva Fireblade shoes, Patagonia Ultra Lightweight Socks, Smith Factor polarized sunglasses, Nathan Quickdraw water bottle, and Nathan 10k Hip Pack.

Update Written by John Anderson