Ultramarathon Runners Pass Through Weakley, Carroll County

McKENZIE (July 9-11) — From Thursday to Saturday, scores of ultramarathon runners crossed through Weakley and Carroll counties as part of an incredible but grueling trek across the Volunteer State.

The Last Annual Vol State Road Race is a 500k (314 mile) trek from Dorena Landing, Missouri to Castle Rock, Georgia. The race begins on Thursday morning each year (despite the "last" in the name) with a ferry trip across the Mississippi. When the ferry docks, the runners are off, and they have ten days to complete the course. This year, 136 stepped off of the ferry.

Along the way, "road angels" make the trip more tolerable, whether it's a cooler of ice cold water on the side of the road or a veritable oasis such as what McKenzie has offered for the last decade.

For the last 11 years, McKenzie's Farmer's Market has become an aid station for weary travelers, stocked with some essentials and temporary comforts such as water, Gatorade, light snacks and cots for sleeping.

Contributing to this year's effort were Al Everett, Chris and Jennifer Nelson, Richard Ozment, Todd Walker and Jay Camp.

Delayed by periods of intense rain and wind on Thursday, the first of the runners began arriving in McKenzie late Thursday night. The bulk of runners passed through on Friday, and stragglers (at risk of being paced out of the race) trickled in early Saturday.

Many maintain somewhat normal hours, sleeping at night, but many choose to run more in the cooler nights and sleep and rest during the hottest part of the day.

Although the ranks of the runners include people from all over the world and of all ages (this year ranging from 17 to 86), you'd never know from the scene at the McKenzie aid station. Any combination gathered at a given moment seems like a group of old friends. The same is true for the road angels and other curious locals posted at the Farmer's Market when runners stop to take a break.

Late Friday morning, The Banner spoke to Jonathan Garrett, a 40-year-old teacher from East Tennessee running the Vol State for the second time. Last year, he finished in eight days and 21 hours.

Garrett has been running ultramarathons for about six years, but the Vol State is the only race on his resume longer than 100 miles.

The Bradley Central High School math and psychology teacher says when his students learn of his hobby, they either think it's "pretty cool" or that he's making it up.

Garrett says he runs because he likes the challenge, and he likes the camaraderie, calling everyone involved "a great group of people." He added, "The road angels show off how awesome the people of Tennessee are."

As of Monday morning, lead runner Addison Hendricks was just 12 miles from the finish, Garrett was just beyond the halfway point, and 30 runners had called it quits.