Appalachian State’s Sunrise Run Up The Mountain Is One Of College Football’s Best Traditions

A 1000+ feet climb from start to finish. I always know we're getting very close to college football season officially kicking off when I start seeing photos and videos of the Appalachian State football team running from Kidd Brewer Stadium to the very top of Howard's Knob. If you're unfamiliar, App State (my alma mater, in case you haven't figured that out by now), is located in the stunning Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina. The campus sits at exactly 3,333 feet in elevation (you'll see signs about that everywhere if you're in Boone so it's hard to forget), and is easily one of the best, and most breathtaking, stadiums in all of college sports... and yes, I'm very biased. But hey, ESPN said it too, for whatever that's worth: https://www.instagram.com/p/C9kelDhxIzN/?img_index=1 And while we're part of the Sun Belt, and the days of FCS and Southern conference are long gone, for many years, our strength and conditioning is what set us apart from so many other smaller college football programs. Many credit that as a huge reason we were able to defeat Michigan back in 2007, and I suspect that had a lot to do with it as well. But if you think the impressive results are due simply to working out in the weight room all off-season long... think again. For years now, the football team has been part of (an insane) tradition where they run up a literal mountain at sunrise, from Kidd Brewer stadium all the way to the top of Howard's Knob. In total, it's a 2.8-mile run to the top of the entrance to the park that has a listed elevation of 4,396 feet. It's more than 1,000 feet higher than the App State campus it overlooks, and the drive itself is insane, so I truly cannot imagine running it. In the photos, it's nearly impossible to tell how grueling it is, and is proof that it really is different up on the mountain (just ask Luke Combs ). This morning, the team did it again, and I sent the post to some of my college friends, and here's what one of them said for a little context on just how difficult that run is: "Lord no!! Call the ambulance for me." And I wholeheartedly second that... You can view a few of the pictures below, but it's hard to tell just how high up they are: https://www.instagram.com/p/C946TFixh_Z/?img_index=1 Here's one from my personal camera roll (it's a little grainy, sorry), which shows the stunning views from the top that overlooks the entire town of Boone, where you can see mostly see the stadium and campus from this angle: The word impressive feels like a massive understatement to use for this feat, but it goes to show just how in shape and well-trained these players are and I cannot wait for college football to kick off SOON. The countdown is on, and we're only about a month from Week 0... I can taste it. And it's not perfect, but this might give you a little perspective in terms of the drive to the top of Howard's Knob, though it starts much closer at the bottom of the road that goes to the top, not at Kidd Brewer where they start which is on the other side of campus: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ukvNe69dKuY