Melissa Esposito’s grandparents at their favorite spot in Cades Cove.
Melissa Esposito likes participating in the Cades Cove Loop Lope 5K (3.1 miles) in Townsend, Tenn., that she flew in from Montana to participate in Sunday’s event.
“Cades Cove is very, very special to me and my family. My grandparents took my dad and aunt to the Cove when they were teenagers and also took me and my siblings growing up as well,” she said.
“My Papa passed away in 2013 and my grandma (Winnie) in 2021. They wanted to be laid to rest in Cades Cove, so both of their ashes are in the Cove — with the special permissions/permits of course.
“They wanted to make sure we got to visit the Cove every year to ‘visit them’ in their special place and just to get away from life a little bit.”
Esposito moved from Tennessee to Montana earlier this year but was not about to let that stop her from “making it to run this amazing foot race” again.
“Myself and my siblings first ran the Loop Lope together in 2022. It snowed that morning and it was my very first time seeing snowfall. They traveled from Florida to meet me in Nashville where I was living at the time and we drove from there,” she said. “Last year, it was just me. My husband, and our pup, Deku, cheered me on from the sidelines.”
This year it is just her running and she flew into Nashville from Helena, Montana on Wednesday to hang out with her brother and friends for a few days before heading to Townsend, Tenn., on Saturday for packet pickup and meeting more friends who now live in Maryville just a few miles from Townsend.
“We definitely started to run the race to honor our grandparents. We’ve been going to Cades Cove for as long as we can remember. I was only 8 or 9, maybe younger (when she first went),” Esposito said. “With our grandparents being laid to rest there, it’s kind of like going to visit them too.
“My siblings don’t regularly run 5Ks like I do, but I knew as soon as I ran it, I was definitely running it again! Our move to Montana made the traveling situation a little different, but I registered for the race back in June and booked my flights and hotel about two weeks ago.
“I love to just be able to run through the Cades Cove and see the smoke (fog) on the mountains, and running across the little creek that goes through the road, seeing the wildlife and being part of it all. It’s easily the most peaceful 5K I’ve ever done.”
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