Running on research: How UTC’s marathon project is shaping Chattanooga’s running community

The Chattanooga Marathon Project group runs laps at Girls Preparatory School, training for the upcoming Chattanooga Marathon. Photo by Noah Camacho.

As the sun set at the end of a snowy Wednesday, a group of runners made their way around the track at Girls Preparatory School.

Despite the cold—and the fact that most of them had never been runners before—they laughed and encouraged each other, and it didn’t take long for them to shed their winter coats.

The group, made up of mostly University of Tennessee at Chattanooga students along with a few faculty members and local residents, was part of the “Chattanooga Marathon Project” research initiative.

The project—sponsored by the Erlanger Chattanooga Marathon and supported by Fast Break Athletics and the Chattanooga Tourism Company—is designed with the goal of examining the short-term and long-term physical, mental and social benefits that may occur when training for an organized race.

In effort to measure a participant’s change in fitness, nutrition, self-confidence and socialization into running, faculty and students in the UTC Department of Health and Human Performance (HHP) will compare pre- and post-program aerobic fitness, body composition, cognitive functioning, and other socio-psychological markers reflective of engagement and commitment to running.

The research team is comprised of numerous HHP faculty members, including UC Foundation Associate Professor Karissa Peyer, UC Foundation Associate Professor Kara Hamilton, UC Foundation Professor Andrew Bailey, Emily Maddux and HHP Department Head Eric Hungenberg.

According to Peyer, a race registration alone may generate short-term fitness goals, but it doesn’t always manifest into sustainable fitness habits.

“Often missing from a novice runner’s preparation for a race is social support, education, and accountability,” said Peyer. “These factors also likely influence whether an athlete sustains their sport participation after the race.”

Therefore, to support the integration of these training elements, all of the research participants were enrolled in Fast Break Athletics’ seven-week training program. Fast Break Track Nights provides expert guidance on agility and mobility training, while also providing weekly training regiments specifically catered to runners’ race day goals.

HHP faculty and students administer a treadmill test in the UTC Sports Lab. Photo by Angela Foster.

Alan Outlaw, owner of Fast Break Athletics, joined the practice every week to help coach the participants.

Training alongside them were runners in an existing Fast Break training program—who may have been more experienced athletes—but were able to serve as inspiration for the new runners.

“We’ve incorporated and integrated the new group in with the existing group so it’s not just a brand-new group or somebody that’s new to running,” Outlaw said.

Peyer, who also served as a trainer during the sessions, participated in the warmups and ran laps with the group every week. As someone who wasn’t a runner prior to college, she understands the challenges of starting out and the importance of having a supportive community.

“Before the race, they’ll come back in and redo all of their testing and we’ll see how things have changed,” Peyer said. “I think what we’re hoping for is really exciting updates six months from now when they do the surveys again; we’re really looking at changes in how they feel about themselves as a runner.

“We’re hoping that there are some changes—and they see running and other types of physical activity as an important part of their lifestyle and something they continue to do into the future.”

Two of those on the track were UTC sophomore Kathryn Brown and senior Calvin Hoeng, who joined the Chattanooga Marathon Project group to run in the 5K.

Brown said that participating in the project is something completely out of the norm for her.

“I have never run before. I’ve never really been athletic,” said Brown, an exercise science major from Ringgold, Georgia. “Athletics and running just kept popping up for me, and then I saw the study and it labeled exactly what I was.

“I wasn’t a regular runner. I decided to fill out the form and I thought, ‘If it’s meant for me, then it’s going to work out. If it’s not, then it won’t.”

Karissa Peyer (left) and Kathryn Brown listen to Alan Outlaw preparing the group for training.

Hoeng, an exercise science major from Dalton, Georgia, isn’t an experienced runner, either.

“I wanted to see what the outside of the research stuff looked like,” Hoeng said. “I hate running, but I know it’s good for you, so I wanted to get into it.”

Fortunately, they both felt that it got easier in the weeks since they began training.

“The progression from starting with nothing to getting to where we’re at is a good pace,” Hoeng said.

“It’s gotten better, a little bit easier and a little more fun all the way,” Brown said.

She described the upcoming race as “nerve-wracking,” but she’s ready to take on the challenge.

“My goal is to finish, make it to the end and just run for as long as I can and break down those mental barriers,” Brown said. “I’m definitely excited.”

Calvin Hoeng (left)

Jaxon Frerichs, a junior exercise and health science major, took advantage of the project in a different way.

Before an injury, Frerichs ran track, cross country and marathon races. When he received an email looking for participants for the study, he wanted to contribute.

“After getting the email about signing up for a running study, I really wanted to try my best to be part of it and try to run like I did before,” said Frerichs, who hails from Cleveland, Tennessee. “The next morning after I signed up, I decided that as much as I would love to be a participant, it would look great on my resume to be involved as a volunteer research assistant.

“Sadly, due to potential bias, I had to choose either participating or assisting. I chose to assist.”

As the only undergraduate research assistant, Frerichs has taken on the role of managing weekly training logs and video prompts that participants must fill out and record each week.

“I like to stay busy,” he said, which is why he also volunteers in Erlanger’s emergency, surgical and clinical research departments. “While a lot of these things will help my resume, my heart is really in exercise science, fitness and preventative medicine.”

Frerichs’ work on the project is part of a larger tradition of UTC’s involvement in the Chattanooga Marathon.

Since 2015, UTC and the Chattanooga Tourism Company have collaborated to integrate sport science into the Chattanooga Marathon. UTC contributed through research, including fitness assessments and training studies, while the Tourism Company connected researchers with participants and managed logistics.

“Our mission is to enhance the social and economic prosperity of our community,” said Cassidy Brinkley, director of events operations for the Chattanooga Tourism Company.

“The bulk of this is for our locals, so the only way that we will remain at that kind of destination community race is to collaborate with community partners,” Brinkley said. “Going back to the relationship we have with UTC at this point, it’s like, ‘What research are you guys looking at now?’ We want to be a part of it and get to that place where we know they’re going to lead us in the right direction.”

Outlaw said that Fast Break has a similar core mission. Collaborating with UTC allows them to give back in a way that aligns with their expertise.

“Giving an opportunity to do something intimidating—come to the track where you can’t escape and you can’t do anything else besides be there in the moment—I think there’s a great communal aspect to it,” he said.

Alan Outlaw (blue jacket) speaks to participants before a training session.

Hungenberg said that even though people may be interested in improving their health, making it a habit can be challenging.

“What research has revealed is that void of peer support, self-belief and a genuine sense of enjoyment, physical activity rarely becomes a sustainable habit,” Hungenberg said. “People enroll in annual memberships, go for a couple of months and then typically drop out.

“That’s why Fast Break Athletics’ involvement in this project has been such a critical piece to this puzzle because we’re operating under the hypothesis that a training program comprised of peer support and expert instruction will develop for runners a sense of community and increased knowledge.”

Thanks to the partnership, the UTC and Chattanooga communities are growing stronger together, Hungenberg said.

“It’s really become this incredible collaboration, all intending to use a community marathon as a catalyst to evoke positive behavioral change in its residents,” he said. “The marathon—particularly this project—is about tapping into community.”