By Cynthia Miles, Contributing Writer, with photos by William Dishmon
Climbing Roots, Knoxville’s newest woman-owned bouldering gym, is moving into the church building connected to 71 South in South Knoxville. This gym offers many different bouldering and training walls for all levels of climbers. The space also features three floors and sports outside of solely rock climbing. Climbing Roots serves as a new community space for people who are into the rock climbing scene and for those who are just starting. The space will give them the opportunity to meet others who enjoy the sport as well!
After finding her passion for climbing while working at a climbing gym in California, Lindsay Runne was inspired to create her own rock-climbing gym that she could make into a space for people to create a community. When she moved to Knoxville with her husband and co-owner of Climbing Roots, Nathan Runne, in 2018, they both fell in love with the outdoor community of the South Knox area and got to work creating their dream. | William Dishmon
When asked about involvement in the community, Runne stated, “That is a huge part of this project, is involving the community as much as we can. That was the part of the dream, that feeling of community and belonging. We saw kids come in after school and just hang out the whole day, just doing homework in the gym, or hanging out with their friends!” When asked about how she wanted to get involved with the community, she discussed some amazing ideas she had, including her determination to make the gym accessible to all people. She is setting up classes for safety and learning to climb, putting in ropes for people who can’t free climb, and she already has elevators within the gym in addition to stairwells. Runne has also left the age range open to all, hoping to have a children’s area while also welcoming older people into this community.
She states, “It’s a mentality thing for some people… it’s easy to just say ‘oh I’m too old to climb’ or ‘I’m afraid of heights, I can’t climb.’ Which, the fear of heights is fair, I don’t discredit that, but climbing is so versatile! You can traverse from side to side, you can go slow, or just figure it out as you go! Age definitely doesn’t matter when coming to this gym.”
She also plans to have the gym open for community events, fun classes, and even concerts, hoping to feature bands on top of the center boulder of the main space. For any community suggestions for events, Runne plans to put a board up at the front of the building; feel free to add ideas!
Runne expressed excitement about getting involved with Pellissippi State Community College itself. She offered for our rock climbing club to use the gym’s facilities and welcomes clubs or groups of friends interested in starting or continuing their rock climbing journeys in her facility. Runne talked about a student discount to encourage this engagement as well.
This gym won’t just be for bouldering; it will feature four separate spaces for different athletic adventures. After passing through the front entrance area, which also boasts a climbing wall to the left of the building’s entrance, you’ll find yourself in the main area, consisting of a continuous rock wall across three of the walls and a large flat top boulder-style climbing section in the middle. The training area is to the right, with training walls that can be programmed to an app; with this, climbers can create their own climbs or train on certain ones. The basement sports an impressive traversing wall that covers most of the left side, and Runne plans to put an American Ninja Warrior course on the right side. On the second floor, there is a yoga studio with a small gym area for simple workouts and smaller equipment, along with another rock wall that extends to the ceiling for more difficult climbs.
The rollout for the gym’s opening is a soft opening for pre-membership sales, to get a preview of the gym, and with feedback from these early members, Runne hopes to have it fully open by late October to November for everyone. Be sure to check out this newest addition to the South Knox community and support local business.
