Muddin’ & Grillin’ in the Gap

A little mud, a little smoke and a whole lot of community made for a busy Saturday in Big Stone Gap

By John W. Peace II / www.JohnWPeace.com

If you happened through Big Stone Gap Saturday and saw kids running through obstacles, grown adults voluntarily crawling through mud, and folks standing around grills studying steaks like they were taking a final exam, don't worry. Nothing had gone terribly wrong.

It was all part of the plan.

September 26, 2026 turned into a full day of muddin’ and grillin’ in the Gap, beginning with the Cub Run, followed by The Grizzly obstacle race and some serious competitive cooking at Grillin’ in the Gap.

The Gap Partnership sponsored the Cub Run and The Grizzly, with both races using the Town of Big Stone Gap's Greenbelt Trail. The Town of Big Stone Gap sponsored the Steak Cookoff Association competition, bringing competitors and visitors to town for a Saturday that involved plenty of mud, smoke and friendly competition.

Little Bears Start the Day

The morning started with the Cub Run, a one-mile obstacle course for children ages 5 through 12. The youngsters hit the course at 10 a.m., getting the first crack at the mud and obstacles along the Greenbelt Trail.

It was a fitting warm-up for what came next. The little bears got their turn first. Then it was time to find out whether the bigger bears were quite as tough as they thought they were.

The afternoon brought The Grizzly, an obstacle race featuring mud pits, walls, ropes, water crossings and just about anything else somebody could dream up to make getting from one end of the Greenbelt Trail to the other considerably harder than it ought to be.

Gary Harris, Big Stone Gap's Director of Parks and Recreation, said The Grizzly included more than 25 obstacles, and building them was no Saturday-morning project.

Crews had worked on the course every day since Monday and were still putting the finishing touches on it the morning of the race. Harris estimated the preparation required around 400 man-hours when advance work and event-week setup were included.

His favorite creation was appropriately named the “Parks and Rec Special.”

“The favorite one's called the Parks and Rec Special,” Harris said. “It's got a little bit of everything in it. And it's even got a funky smell to it.”

That ought to sell a few registrations.

The obstacle combined water, mud, pipes, plastic and a cargo net. Harris described it as pretty much the whole Grizzly course rolled into one obstacle.

Behind all that mud, though, was a purpose. Events like these bring people into Big Stone Gap, give local families something different to do and put visitors close to local businesses.

More Than Just a Race

Elise Bloomer of the Gap Partnership said the nonprofit works with businesses and community members to encourage tourism and strengthen the local business community.

“We basically work with all businesses and community members to try to bring more tourism and things to help our business community,” Bloomer said.

Big Stone Gap doesn't have a traditional chamber of commerce, and Bloomer said the Partnership serves a somewhat similar role. Its work includes community projects, grants and downtown beautification in addition to sponsoring the town's races.

The Partnership is already looking toward 2027. Bloomer said it plans a three-event challenge series consisting of the Polar Plunge in February, Freedom 5K on July 4 and The Grizzly in September. Complete all three and you'll earn a commemorative challenge coin.

In other words, if getting muddy once a year isn't enough, they're working on that problem.

Then Somebody Fired Up the Grills

While the Gap Partnership handled the day's races, the Town of Big Stone Gap sponsored Grillin’ in the Gap, where the competition involved considerably less running and considerably more beef.

Greg Cross, the Steak Cookoff Association representative, has been involved almost from the beginning. Cross said he promoted the event during its first couple of years before becoming an SCA representative, with Steve Ham taking over as promoter. Cross estimated the Big Stone Gap competition is now in its eighth or ninth year.

The Steak Cookoff Association turns cooking into a competitive sport, with competitions across the United States and internationally. Steak is the main attraction, but ribs, chicken wings and other categories get in on the action, too.

Saturday brought 19 cooks in Steak A, 19 in Steak B and 15 in the Jackpot Steak competition. Nine cooks competed in chicken wings and nine more in ribs.

When I suggested all of this sounded like diet food, Cross cleared that up.

“No calories,” he said. “No calories in all this.” With a BIG laugh!

Glad we settled that.

SCA competitors can also earn golden tickets toward championship competition. Cross said local competitor Brett Bullock earned one in his very first competition, proving you don't necessarily have to be a seasoned pro to cook your way into the big leagues. Last year, Big Stone Gap Mayor Gary Johnson also earned a golden ticket through SCA's pass-down system.

When the Smoke Cleared

When judging was finished, Rick Manzi of Anonymous Q and Disruption Rubs captured the Jackpot Steak competition. Pete Meyers won Steak A, while Jeffrey Terry took Steak B.

Susan Handy won the Chicken Wing competition, and Nick Copeland took top honors in Ribs.

Cross knows a thing or two about barbecue himself. Ask him to choose the best style in America, though, and you'll get the answer of a man smart enough not to start a family feud.

“I can find good in anything,” he said.

He likes Eastern Carolina vinegar barbecue, has tried the mustard-based sauces of the Carolinas and appreciates Texas-style dry rubs. But if forced to choose, Cross comes back home to the ketchup-based sauce he normally cooks around here.

He also remembers an older Central Appalachian barbecue tradition that included fresh cured hams and even mutton. Today, brisket and pork shoulders are more common, but the basic idea hasn't changed much.

Good meat, low heat and enough patience not to fool with it too much.

A Pretty Good Saturday in the Gap

That's what made Saturday interesting.

Along Big Stone Gap's Greenbelt Trail, kids ran obstacles and adults crawled through mud holes somebody had spent all week building. Nearby, cooks were staring at steaks and wondering whether another thirty seconds would make them a winner or ruin their afternoon.

Kids ran. Adults got muddy. Smoke rolled off grills. Volunteers worked. Judges judged. Visitors came to town.

There's a lot of work hidden behind a day like that. Add together the Parks and Recreation crews, Gap Partnership volunteers, town employees, SCA representatives, judges, cooks and race organizers, and Saturday didn't just happen because somebody hung up a flyer.

It took a community to make it happen.

Of course, this being Big Stone Gap, we couldn't simply have a foot race and a cookout.

We had to add mud, obstacles, competition and one hole in the ground that smelled funny.