Twisted Ankle Trail Marathon & Half Marathon Official Website

The "Nitty Gritty" Details (User Opinions)

Russ J.
North, GA

  (05-20-2009)

"The Twisted Ankle Marathon and Half Marathon is held in mid-May in Summerville, GA. I've done the HM three times now and it's a favorite. The race is limited to 175 runners in each event. It runs around a small lake, then climbs a very steep path up a ridge. Once atop the ridge it runs an out-and-back along the top of the ridge, then descends along a steep Jeep road, rejoins the outbound path around the lake, and finishes back at the start. A May race in Georgia means you get the three H's--heat, hills, humidity--and this year we also got mud.
We started off running partway around the lake, through a campground, then onto hiking trails. By mile 2-1/2 the gradual climb turned to moderate. We passed a nice marble quarry with a waterfall and resumed the climb. It steadily got steeper and steeper, and eventually turned into a treacherous, muddy 40% grade where we had to grab trees to pull ourselves up the trail. This is called "Becky's Bluff" after the RD. Thunderstorms had rolled through the night before and left the trail a slick, muddy mess and left the air soggy. It was an exhausting climb, even at a slow hiking pace. Some runners were sitting by the side of the trail trying to catch their breath. Finally we hit the top of the ridge and the first aid station, where marathoners turn right and half marathoners turn left. The marathoners run an out-and-back then do the route that we did, plus some. Once on top of the ridge, the course is continuous rolling hills with a few steep stretches. The trail has plenty of rocks, sticks, stumps, mud, and a little poison ivy. This is how it went for the next 7 miles. Temperatures were not too high and it was overcast so it wasn't too hot, but it was very, very humid and by mile 2 I was completely drenched. Runners were advised to bring water bottles and it was good advice as the aid stations were about 4 miles apart. This is an out-and-back for about 3-1/2 miles. I had a few close calls with faceplants but didn't actually fall, unlike last time I ran this race. I hit the turnaround aid station, refilled my water bottle, grabbed some pretzels and headed back. The constant hills were taking their toll and my legs were starting to tire. I finally got to the last aid station at about mile 10-1/2, which is where we started back down the ridge. The return trip is not quite as steep as the climb up the ridge, but is a fairly steep, muddy, rocky Jeep trail which can was hard on my tired legs. We rejoined the outbound course, back past the marble quarry, through the campground, around the lake, and finally, across a footbridge to the finish. This has to be one of the best finishes of any race I've run, a nice wooden footbridge across the lake, with finish line in sight and the P.A. announcing your name.
Finish food is just OK, with cookies, pretzels, and fruit. Medals only to the top 3 in age groups. The finish area has a nice atmosphere, with families of runners picnicking and music playing.
There's nothing fancy about this race but I really like it. It's really tough, and the full marathon is very, very tough, with many more hills in hot, humid conditions. The race fills up early so if you want to run the Twisted Ankle, start watching the web site in January. "

Reviewed by a: Repeat Participant for 2009