The Catawba Triple Crown is a 34 mile loop just NW of Roanoke, VA that circles the small town of Catawba. “Triple Crown” refers to the three iconic landmarks found on this route; the Dragon’s Tooth rock formation, McAfee Knob, and the Tinker Cliffs (my favorite of the three). According to my GPS, the loop itself is about 32.6 miles plus a rugged 1.6 mile out and back up to Dragon’s Tooth for a total of 34.2 miles.
I love the idea of competitive FKTs as a way of testing yourself against other runners without having to sign up for a race. Unfortunately, we don’t have many in the area. When I found this route about a month ago I knew it was perfect. It has iconic landmarks, tough climbs, great views, and accessibility. I am hoping that by lowering the time it will bring out some competition, build it and they will come… right?
I decided to start my attempt from Dragon’s Tooth trailhead, at noon, and run counter clockwise. By FKT rules you can start a looped route anywhere along the way and run in either direction (please correct me if I am wrong). I chose the start point and direction to hit the hardest part first and frontload the first two thirds with climbing, technicality, and hikers. I chose noon because it was cold in the morning and I am a wimp. I also chose to run supported to give me the best chance to go under 6 hours.
When I mapped out the route on Strava it showed 33.58 miles. This meant 10:43min/mile to make it under 6 hours. I split the loop into thirds;
Dragon’s Tooth trailhead to McAfee Knob trailhead - 10 miles
McAfee Knob trailhead to Catawba Rd.- 12.5 miles
Catawba Rd. to Dragon’s Tooth – 11 miles
I would start with a 2L pack full of Tailwind (700 calories) and then switch it out for a fresh one at McAfee Knob trailhead and Catawba Rd.
Dragon’s Tooth – McAfee Knob Trailhead
I knew that the first 3 miles, up and down, Dragon’s Tooth, were going to be the toughest. I knew that I would have a couple of easier miles afterwards to relax so I decided to push harder than comfortable right out of the gate and just hope that it wasn’t a mistake. Despite scrambling up boulders and dodging hordes of hikers I made it to mile 3 with an average pace of 12:22. The next few miles I was able to make up some time along the river and through the cow pastures before a 600’ climb and then some rolling hills taking me to aid station one.
Arrived McAfee trailhead in 1hr 47min almost exactly on pace for 6 hours 10:42
McAfee Knob Trailhead – Catawba Rd.
Rosalinda, my wife, handed me a fresh pack and I headed up the most crowded section of the route. I thought that all of the people were going to slow me down but it ended up pushing me forward. Between the words of encouragement and my aversion to hiking in the middle of crowds of people during Covid times, I ran almost the entire 4 miles up to MacAfee Knob. This took a bit of a toll but instead of losing time on this climb I had dropped my average pace to 10:30 and was now banking more time on the descent. This was a huge boost to my morale. By the time I made it past the Tinker Cliffs and to the Andy Layne Trail I didn’t even care that I had miscalculated the distance a bit. I ran the last few miles mostly downhill into aid station two feeling good.
Arrived Catawba Rd. in 3hrs 56min 4 minutes ahead of plan 10:22 average pace and uncertain what 6hr pace is.
Catawba Rd. – Dragon’s Tooth Trailhead
I chugged some water, grabbed a fresh pack, and headed up the climb to the North Mountain Trail. This climb requires quite a bit of hiking so I took out my phone and recalculated 6hr pace for 34 miles and it was 10:34 which happened to be my average pace when I reach “the top” at mile 25. If I could hold 10:34 pace for the last 9 miles I would make it… unless I miscalculated the distance again. I told myself that I could push for the last 9 miles, and that really it was just 7.5 miles of rolling ridgeline before a 1.5 mile freefall to the finish. I ran hard along the ridgeline feeling more confident the farther I went but still nervous that I was going to find some bonus miles at the end. When Catawba Valley Dr. came into view I knew that I would make it and could finally relax.
I made my way across the highway to the trailhead where throngs of people waited in anticipation and cheered!!! In reality the sun was getting low and there was not a single person in the parking lot (not that they would have had any idea what I was doing). Rosalinda was in the car alphabetizing our Christmas card mailing list and the only sound was chirping birds. It was perfect.
Final Distance: 34.2mi
Average Pace – 10:19
Final Time – 5:53:07
Comments
That's an awesome time, especially dealing with the crowds. I knew 6 hours was possible but you crushed it.