This weekend I checked off a bucket list item I’ve had for a long time, a trip to the Red River Gorge in Kentucky. I’d previously tried to map out a 50k run in the area, but had difficulty stringing together the short hikes in the area into a single long run. Lucky for me, the timing of the Red River Gorge Ultramarathon worked out for my schedule. And, while my running schedule has been inconsistent this past month, I was doing some longer distance running earlier in the fall, so I was ready to give it a go.

My trip began with the 3.5 hour drive from Columbus, Ohio, to the Hemlock Lodge in the Natural Bridge State Resort Park. The resort lodge is ideally located, just a 15 minute drive from the start of the run. Sadly, I only saw the lodge in the dark as the views from my balcony of the river look very tranquil online. On the drive down, I stopped off in Lexington to have dinner and pick up some last-minute items at Target. There are few options to eat and shop in the area where the run is, so you may also want to consider stocking up before getting to the state park.

I had hoped for a dry run, but at 6:30am as I left the hotel there was a steady rain in the 52 degree air. I wasn’t too concerned about being cold all day since the weather report said the rain would stop in a few hours. We got a few minutes of sunlight here and there, but mostly, it was just overcast with periods of decent wind, especially along the ridgelines.

The race was very well organized, so the check-in took seconds, and the race briefing started at 6:50am sharp, and we were off running right at 7:00am. The run sets off on a very runnable single track after a quick loop around the campground to spread out the field. This kind of start should be done at more ultras where possible, since bunching in the first miles can be terrible when the start goes directly into single track.

The centerpiece of this course is the 6 descents into the base of the gorge and then the climbs back out. The trail running at the bottom of the gorge, as well as along the rim, is very nice. Despite the leaves, the rail was very runnable. At the bottom, you can see the steep walls of the gorge towering around you as well as many unique sandstone formations. There are many cave areas that the trail winds through. When you come out of the gorge, you get to run along the ridgelines with excellent views of the valley, often off both sides of the trail. The ascents and descents have switchbacks in a lot of the places, but there are also some very steep sections, some even with very long stairways.

Other highlights of the run included stream crossings, where getting your feet wet was unavoidable, narrow trails along steep drop offs, as well as slick mud and plenty of leaves. In short, a real trail run. I’d rank this as one of the best ultramarathons I’ve done for the amount of runnable trail since I don’t like the overly rocky or rooted technical trails.

One thing you don’t get to see on this run is many of the most iconic sites in the Red River Gorge area. If I’d had more time to plan this trip, I would have liked to come a day early and hike around on a few of the shorter trails to see some of the key sites, such as the Natural Bridge.

I’d highly recommend this area for your own ultrarunning destination because of the remote area, unique rock formations, and plenty of trails. In addition, I also recommend any run put on by Next Opportunity Events. Everything from the race signup to the check-in, and course markings, was top-notch. And finally, there were absolutely great people at the aid stations, always so deeply appreciated as they really help keep you going!