Marathon

The Marathon course is a 26.2 mile journey through scenic Knoxville, TN.  The course has been designed to show-off Knoxville and run through several of its fine neighborhoods.

2011 turn-by-turn course description:  2011 Course Description

2011 course map (subject to minor modifications): 2011 Full and Half Map

Course profile:  km course profile.pdf

Start Time:  7:30 a.m. on Sunday, April 3, 2011.

Certification:  USATF Certified - #TN08015MS
Course is a Boston Marathon qualifier.

Amenities
 

All Marathon participants will receive an Asics technical t-shirt and goody bag upon packet pickup at the Health & Fitness Expo on Saturday, April 2nd. NOTE: This is mandatory packet pickup; there is NO RACE DAY PACKET PICKUP. At the finish line marathon finishers will receive a finishers' medal and finishers' running hat.

Refreshment 

The marathon course will feature 18 runner refreshment stations.  Each station will feature Powerade and Mountain Valley Spring Water.  There will also be two gel station serving GU (flavors: Vanilla Bean, Chocolate Outrage, and Tri-Berry) at approximately the 11 and 16 mile marks.  There will be another station serving fruit. 

Live Music  We have 20 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. While we are working on lining up the acts for 2011, you can get an idea about who will be playing by seeing who played in 2010.  Just click here.

Restrictions  Marathon participants must be 18 years of age or older.  And you must be able to complete the course, whether running or walking, in 7 hours.  The course will be rolled-up in a 16 minute/mile pace.  At a pace slower than this, you will need to move to the sidewalks and proceed toward the finish.  The finish line will remain open for 7 hours.
There is no separate start time for walkers. 

Timing  We will use a chip timing system for the marathon.  Check back for more information.

Portable Toilets  On course, we will have plenty of portable toilets.  They will be near (but not right next to) every water station.  There will be 3 at each of the first 6 water stations, 2 at each of the next 9 water stations, and 1 at each of the remaining 3 water stations on course.  There will also be plenty available at the start, as well as indoor restrooms in the Knoxville Convention Center concourse. 

Medical Support  Plenty of medical support will be available throughout the course, at the finish line, and at the Pilot Post Race Party at Thompson Boling Arena.  Mobile medical support units will be positioned every couple of miles along the course.  There will be a first aid area after the finish line.  And there will be a first aid team and self-care area at the Pilot Post Race Party at Thompson Boling Arena.  In addition a therapy team provided by Covenant Therapy Centers will be available at the Pilot Post Race Party.

Click here for tips regarding proper fluid replacement.

Teams
All runners have the ability to participate as a team and be eligible for special team awards and prizes.  Note, there is also a 4-Person Relay, which you can read about on the Relay page.  The Marathon team competition is where each member of the team completes the entire course.  You may have as many people as you'd like on your team.  For special team awards, only the top 3 participants on your team will score - their times will be combined for a team time (ALL participants are also timed individually and eligible for all individual awards and prizes.)  There will be team categories for male only, female only, and co-ed teams. 
Teams can be any groups of people who want to add this designation (for free!) to their registration.  Encourage others you know to join you in the race...coworkers, classmates, family, military, friends, etc. are all great ideas for teams.  If you register as a team with coworkers, your team can also win the "Fittest Company" competition - determined by which company's employees complete the most combined miles on race day.   

Pace Teams
We are organizing pace teams to help get you to the finish line.  We will have pace teams led by experienced runners for time increments ranging from 3 hours to 6 hours. 

Please stop by the Pace Teams booth at the Expo for additional information.