Race Information

The Races
We have something for everyone, with 5 different events: 

Marathon (26.2 miles)
4-Person Relay (note: the first two legs are 6.3 and 6.1 miles respectively, the third 7.9 miles and the final leg is 5.9 miles)
Half Marathon (13.1 miles)
5k (3.1 miles)
Covenant Kids Run (1 mile fun run) 

Runners and walkers are welcome in all events! 

The Marathon, 4-Person Relay, Half-Marathon, and 5K will be held on Sunday, April 1, 2012.  The marathon, relay, and half-marathon will start at 7:30 am, with the 5K beginning at 7:45 am.  NOTE:  The 2012 Covenant Kids Run will be held on Saturday, March 31, at 6:00 pm.

Location
Start area is in Downtown Knoxville on the Clinch Ave bridge, just outside the Knoxville Convention Center, near the intersection with Henley Street. 

Covenant Kids Run: 6:00 pm

Covenant Health Marathon, Relay, and Half Marathon:  7:30 am
Covenant Health 5k:  7:45 am

*All times are subject to slight modification if necessary.

All races (except the Covenant Kids Run) will be timed using a chip timing system.  Please check back for more information regarding this year's timing system.

 

ASI Photo is proud to be the Official Photographer of the Covenant Health Knoxville Marathon.  2011 Race photos are available at this link for the marathon, half, 5k and relay.  Kids run photos can be found here.  We'll post the link to the 2012 photos as we get closer.

Shirts
All participants in every race will receive a top-quality t-shirt.

 

On Course Entertainment 
Party Boys DJ Show will be at the start, finish, and at several on-course locations providing the musical motivation to keep you moving.   For all seven years of the CHKM, Party Boys provided much-needed energy to the runners and spectators and helped make this feel like a celebration as much as a race.  Look forward to them being out there for you again this year!

We will have 18 great musical acts lined-up all over the course!  Dante Music Entertainment has recruited and coordinated live musical acts that will give you a feel for locally grown music and they'll keep you moving.  To give you an idea as to what to expect in 2012, click here to view the bands that performed in 2011.

Pilot Post Race Party
The awesome Pilot Post-Race Party will be held at Thompson Boling Arena,  just steps from Neyland Stadium, the site of the finish.  The celebration will feature food, beverages, and live music.

Course maps, elevation profiles, and course descriptions are in the race information for each specific race.

To add to the excitement and fun, there are two different ways to participate in these events as a member of a team.  There is the 4-Person Relay, in which each person completes approximately 1/4 of the marathon course and together, the team gets one time.  Male, Female, and Co-Ed divisions are offered.

There is also the Team Competition of the marathon, half marathon, or 5k, where each person on a team completes the entire course individually, but the top 3 times on each team are combined for special team awards.  Each person also still gets their own time and is eligible for individual awards and prizes like everyone else in the race.  For this team competition, you may have as many people as you'd like on your team.  Just choose a team captain and have that person sign-up your team name and then you can join that team.

The Fittest Company Challenge is a special contest for Knoxville-area organizations.  For each employee who finishes a race, your company gets points (26.2, 13.1, 6.55, or 3.1 for the marathon, half, relay, and 5k, respectively.)  All points are added together and the company with the most points wins the Fittest Company award.  There are categories for small, medium, and large companies, as determined by number of employees listed in Knoxville Chamber Partnership's directory of area employers.  Interested in having your company participate?  Have your wellness or fitness director or someone else from your company contact us and we'll add you to the list.  Just make sure your employees include your Employer Name on their registration forms.

 

Pace Groups
We are organizing pace groups to help get you to the finish line.  We will have pace groups led by experienced runners for paces ranging from from 3 hours to 6 hours. 

*If you are interested in leading a pace group, please contact us in the marathon office.

Awards
New for 2012!  All award ceremonies will be held at the Calhoun's on the River at 3 pm EST.  Calhoun's is located at 400 Neyland Drive, just a half mile from the finish line at Neyland Stadium.

Awards Ceremony Schedule
5K - 3 pm
Relay - Immediately after 5K awards
Half Marathon - Immediately after Relay awards
Marathon - Immediately after Half Marathon awards

$10,000 in cash will be awarded to top male and female athletes in the both the marathon and half marathon.  The specific cash award breakdown is as follows:

 

Unique awards will be presented for both the marathon and half marathon as follows:

· Plaques will be awarded to the overall top five men and women. 

· Plaques also will be awarded to the top three male and female masters (>39 years) and the top male and female finisher in each of the Grandmaster (>49 years) and Veteran (>59 years) categories.

· Age group awards in the marathon will be presented to the top three finishers in the following categories for both male and female: <20, 20-24, 25-29, 30-34, 35-39, 40-44, 45-49, 50-54, 55-59, 60-64, 65-69, 70-79 and 80+. 
      

· Team awards will be presented to the top teams in Male, Female, and Co-Ed divisions.

· Plaques will be awarded to the overall top three men and women.

· Awards also will be awarded to the top three male and female masters (>39 years) and the top male and female finisher in each of the Grandmaster (>49 years) and Veteran (>59 years) categories.

· Age group awards will presented to the top three finishers in the following categories for both men and women: 14 and under, 15-19, 20-24, 25-29,30-34, 35-39, 40-44, 45-49, 50-54, 55-59, 60-64, 65-69, 70-79, and 80+.

Finishers’ medals will be presented to all finishers.  Kids who have completed the build-up program of 25 miles prior to race day will be presented with a special award when they present their completed mileage log at packet pickup at the Expo on Saturday, March 31.

 

Special packages available to qualified elite athletes in both the full and half marathon.  Please contact our athlete coordinator to discuss elite athlete participation.