ARNOLD AIR FORCE BASE, Tenn. -- Sometimes the only way to discover what you’re capable of is to simply just start moving and see how far determination can take you.
For Arnold Air Force Base employee Ashley Rose-Nalin, that mindset carried her through one of Tennessee’s toughest endurance challenges: the Fall Creek Falls 100-mile race which took place on Nov. 22-23, 2025, at Fall Creek Falls State Park in Spencer.
Rose-Nalin, an experienced distance runner, has long used running to stay active and push her limits. She’s part of a small group of endurance athletes who travel all over to race together and support each other. Over the years, she has completed half marathons, 50Ks, 50 milers, and 100Ks.
With encouragement from her running community, she decided it was time to attempt the next milestone.
“I have some friends who live in different states,” she explained. “We meet up and run races together. We did a half marathon in 2019 and then decided it would be fun to try an ultra-distance. At that point, we embarked on what we began to call the ‘battle with long.’ When I first completed a half-marathon, I thought, ‘I have no idea how people run full marathons.’ Then I started training for my first 31-mile race and suddenly a marathon didn’t seem as long as it used to. From there, things just kind of evolved.”
She began searching for a 100-mile race close to home and Fall Creek Falls quickly stood out. The course winds through one of Tennessee’s most visited parks, crossing suspension bridges, passing overlooks and tracing miles of shoreline.
The 100-mile race boasts of over 11,500 feet of climbing with a 32-hour cut off time.
Rose-Nalin set off on a cool November morning, ready to take on whatever the next 100 miles had in store for her.
She wasn’t alone for the race as pacers were allowed after mile 48.5. Two friends from her running group and her husband joined her as pacers, while her family met her at checkpoints with food, drinks and encouragement.
The race delivered exactly the challenge she expected. She described it as “adequately hard,” but she stated that she exceeded her own expectations, finishing in 29 hours and 29 minutes.
“My only goal was to finish,” she added.
For the 2025 race, there were around 40 entries for the 100-mile distance with 22 completing the 100-mile distance. This race did allow 100-mile entrants to drop down and receive credit for a shorter distance completed during the event, such as 100 kilometers.
To add to her accomplishment of finishing a grueling 100-mile race, she also placed third among female runners. She was awarded a hand-welded, steel belt buckle along with a bronze podium award for her third-place finish.
As for what kept her motivated while running such long distances, Rose-Nalin said she just kept moving forward and setting small goals for herself.
“I always joke that I sign up just to see if I can,” she said. “’I've done this. Can I do this?’ So that's the motivation for signing up to see if I can. But when I'm in the moment, I'm always thinking about what comes next and what I need to do now to make the next 10 miles. I get these weird little strategies where I'm going to run to this point and then I'm going to give myself a walk break or snack break. The goal may change as I go, but I always make sure I’m moving forward.”