Come experience the natural beauty & urban space of Chattanooga! Race weekend, you will explore Chattanooga’s scenic qualities that define our community as the best outdoor destination! Runners will pass the Tennessee River & venture through our distinct Downtown as they experience an innovative course unique to Chattanooga. The Chattanooga …
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Come experience the natural beauty & urban space of Chattanooga! Race weekend, you will explore Chattanooga’s scenic qualities that define our community as the best outdoor destination! Runners will pass the Tennessee River & venture through our distinct Downtown as they experience an innovative course unique to Chattanooga.
The Chattanooga Marathon course was designed by a passionate group of local distance runners to be first and foremost, a great run course. This 26.2 mile course will provide a great experience for the first-time or experienced marathon runner by providing a safe course with plenty of well stocked aid stations, great spectator support, and an amazing finish line experience. We are proud to showcase Chattanooga with this route that will surely be one to remember! Approximate elevation gain is 1200 feet.
The Half Marathon course was designed by the same group of runners who designed the marathon route. The goal was simple: create an amazing experience for everyone involved. This 13.1 mile course is extremely runnable with some good flat stretches and a few hills thrown in for good measure! The course is centered in the Downtown, University, and Southside Districts and will have tremendous spectator support. The approximate elevation gain is 664 feet.
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Nice course in a nice town
I've run this one before, but this was my first real, genuine effort since I broke my ankle this past September. I was pleased with my time, although I stopped … MORE
I’ve run this one before, but this was my first real, genuine effort since I broke my ankle this past September. I was pleased with my time, although I stopped to walk a bit about halfway, and that added 10 minutes to my time.
It’s not a hard course, but not totally flat either. It’s along the river, through town (although not the heart of downtown, which I wish they would do, and easily could) and is really an enjoyable run. There is plenty of parking, aid stations, bathrooms, etc. All you’d need. The only thing that is NOT within walking distance, I don’t think, is a hotel. You’d have to drive. I’m local, so I didn’t check for hotels within walking, but unless there is a new place, I don’t think there are any within half a mile. You wouldn’t want to stay in that area anyway. It’s nice enough, but not really a place that is attractive to walk around right out the front door of a hotel.
Worth the drive to this race if you are regional. And if you are looking to knock TN off your list of states, then it’s worth traveling for, I think (the 7 Bridges / 4 Bridges race is also worth looking at).
The post-race meal is decent, you can choose from one of several food trucks. I had the tacos. The beer truck has NA options, which I was thankful for.
Overall, a great race with good spectators.
Great town, great race
This is my town, so this is an easy race for me to get to. I know the route, and it's a beautiful course. I wish they would run us … MORE
This is my town, so this is an easy race for me to get to. I know the route, and it’s a beautiful course. I wish they would run us through the UTC campus, instead of along the backside of it. It would be a minor rerouting and wouldn’t change the distance considerably. And it would add to the charm of the course.
Packet pickup is easy, there are toilets on site and plenty of them, and parking is plentiful and easy, and very close to the start / finish line.
Great race. I’ll be back again next year. This is one that is worth a weekend in Chattanooga. Stay at a nice hotel downtown, eat out, walk across the Walnut St. Bridge, see the Medal of Honor Museum and maybe the aquarium.
nice but hilly
Good mix of city views and along the river. Hills were tough for me which impacted my pace but overall i enjoyed this race. Production was well done and swag … MORE
Good mix of city views and along the river. Hills were tough for me which impacted my pace but overall i enjoyed this race. Production was well done and swag was above average.
My 10th marathon, good choice
Marathon was very well run plenty of support throughout the route from volunteers, law enforcement and spectators. Course really took you through some different areas of Chattanooga with a good … MORE
Marathon was very well run plenty of support throughout the route from volunteers, law enforcement and spectators. Course really took you through some different areas of Chattanooga with a good mix of uphills and downhills. The university campus was nice as well as bridge over the river. The most lasting was impression from the race was seeing the Chattanooga Veterans National cemetery twice around mile 10ish and mile 22ish. It makes you really think about the sacrifices made for our country that’s allows us to enjoy the things we love, such as running a marathon. I chose this race for #10 marathon for myself very glad I did.
Fun race in a great town!
First, if you do this race you really must come for the weekend. Find a place to stay downtown and explore the city. See a show, or a movie, just … MORE
First, if you do this race you really must come for the weekend. Find a place to stay downtown and explore the city. See a show, or a movie, just walk and find a great place to eat. Chattanooga is hard to beat for a small city.
The race itself is nice. There are a few short but steep hills but this isn’t billed as a flat and fast race so a few hills are to be expected. Aid stations are every couple of miles, the route is pretty (with the exception of a few segments), and the spectators are also great. It’s an easy race to watch as a spectator because a lot of it is downtown, so people stand on sidewalks or corners and cheer the runners on.
I love this race and I’ll be back. No real downsides to this race, and a lot of upsides.
Always a Super fun Race, CityofChatt
The race started on time, plenty of volunteers cheering you on, crowd support is always fantastic, there were 1 water stop on the 5K , the course is about 95% … MORE
The race started on time, plenty of volunteers cheering you on, crowd support is always fantastic, there were 1 water stop on the 5K , the course is about 95% flat running up a slight hill into the finish line, plenty of water, bananas, chips and other foods when finishing.
Great Race , Great Volunteers,
The race was great with plenty of Portable rest rooms and plenty of water stops, the volunteers was super great and very very supportive, the course as always has plenty … MORE
The race was great with plenty of Portable rest rooms and plenty of water stops, the volunteers was super great and very very supportive, the course as always has plenty of beautiful scenery across some historical bridges and the crowd was supportive through out the course, Chattanooga Marathon Weekend is the run you don’t want to miss, it starts on a Friday and finish up on Sunday with the Half and Full Matrathon
Beautiful Views, Poor Water Stops
There were a lot of positives about the Erlanger Chattanooga Marathon but I could not get over how poor the water stations were. I always carry a bottle with me … MORE
There were a lot of positives about the Erlanger Chattanooga Marathon but I could not get over how poor the water stations were. I always carry a bottle with me because I supplement what I get on the course with what I carry with me. I want to make sure I’m covered in case I miss a stop. (I’m not wasting time in a race to wait in line: I like to grab, go, and grab again if I spill too much of the first one.) I was really disappointed that 2 of the stops were in the middle of downhill slopes after heavy inclines. At a point where you hope to make up some time, you have to “slam the brakes” to grab water.
not only does this kill your momentum, it obliterates your quads, too. Two stops were positioned like this which meant 4 water stops for the marathon. What’s more – the first 2 stops (when all runners (full and half) are all trying to get water) could have used a 2nd table about 10 yards apart from each other. When you only have one chance to grab water and 6′ to do it you either skip the stop or wait in line – neither option is ideal. Whether or not water was handed to you or just poured by a volunteer and pushed to the edge of the table for you to grab seemed to be up to the volunteers some tables handed it out – others just made sure cups were available for you. I don’t blame volunteers – volunteers are hard to come by for full marathons – but a little more instruction would have helped. We runners like consistency. — so that was my big “you should know” portion of my review.
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The race organizers sent out maps and addresses for the packet pick-up and race-day parking; however if you are not from the area and needed to get there, some signage on the streets (due to road closures for the course) would have been helpful. I managed. It was a slight inconvenience but I made it work.
Packet pickup was easy enough. I love the shirt – I love shirts that I can wear around because I never wear shirts when I train. I absolutely loved the medal. I would have purchased a pint glass (I love a good pint glass) if it had anything about it being from the Erlanger Chattanooga Marathon – it was just the shoe logo which resembles a peanut.
They had a decent number of vendors – many sponsors of the race- but they had some give-aways that I picked up because I also love to spin the wheel for a prize (especially free sunglasses.)
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RACE DAY
Getting to the race was easy enough. It started as the same place as the expo. In addition to the portapotties (of which there were plenty), there are also some heated bathrooms in the pavilion. Lining up for the race was odd. The “chute” was up but it didn’t say “START” or “FINISH” on it so we didn’t know which way to face and had to ask the MC. We lined up (pacers being sort of the “corral leaders” and they sent the runners off in 3 “waves”: the sub 9’00″/ mile group, the 9’00” – 12’00” group, and the over 12’00″/mile group (each starting one minute after another.) [The MC originally said “if you’re going to go all out and come across this line huffing and puffing, then we want you up front” ….um…. no. Endurance runners don’t do that. If there are runners who think that’s how it’s done, we want them at the very back.]
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THE COURSE
The course was beautiful. It was my first time to Chattanooga and it’s a lovely town. You can see that they are trying to make improvements, too. After the half-marathoners go to finish, the marathoners start their second loop which is not exactly the same as the first – we get a nice bit of miles on the Chattanooga River Walk. Although it was concrete, it was nice because it was flat and the views from the path were absolutely stunning. I was expecting a water station when we got off the Riverwalk path but it was not there on the 2nd loop. the portapotties were still there but no water station and that really had me concerned for the back-of-the-pack marathoners.
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Would I run it again? Yes. Now that I know I should probably rely on my own water more than what the course has to offer, I would run it again. The volunteers made great crowd support. The town was friendly. The course was beautiful with the leaves changing and that smell of bonfires. (now – this was in November – it may be different in Springtime.)
Not the best for a slower first timer
Not a ton of crowd support at least from a back of the pack perspective so mental preparation is huge. Basic short sleeve t-shirt but benefit was they were distance … MORE
Not a ton of crowd support at least from a back of the pack perspective so mental preparation is huge. Basic short sleeve t-shirt but benefit was they were distance specific! Minimal expo.
Super fun easy race
The course only have a slight incline coming into the finish line, but the rest of the course is flat just a nice out and back , great volunteer support … MORE
The course only have a slight incline coming into the finish line, but the rest of the course is flat just a nice out and back , great volunteer support with one water stop on this course. When running you will see the beautiful lookout mountains.
Awesome Day!
This race was awesome. Email and social media updates prior to the weekend was great. I stayed at the Marriott downtown and was within walking distance of start/finish/expo. Decent amount … MORE
This race was awesome. Email and social media updates prior to the weekend was great. I stayed at the Marriott downtown and was within walking distance of start/finish/expo. Decent amount of places around to carb load. Expo was small but I also came 2 hours before it closed. I got my customary beer glass. It was a cold, sunny day- great for running! Course was nice and flat with downhills and a couple of hills- a really steep one right around mile 7-8ish. Running the bridge was the best part of the course. Afterwards they had bananas, soda, cheez-its, chips, and beer garden which I didn’t visit. Medal is much bigger than I thought it would be. It was a great day! 🙂
Looped course
Free pictures which I do love. The marathoners do the first 13 and then split off for a nice run along the river trail then back for the second loop … MORE
Free pictures which I do love.
The marathoners do the first 13 and then split off for a nice run along the river trail then back for the second loop of most of the same course. It worked, was hilly as I suspected. Nice medal. Outdoor expo which was crazy cold. I did not show there as outdoor is too hard.
Weather was perfect the bridges and the river trail were my favorite parts.
10 year age group which I dislike, I came in 4th. Again…
As good as urban small town racing gets.
I love this race. Chattanooga does races so well and it's such a pretty town for racing (Ironman, anyone?). It feels like a big city race in the start finish … MORE
I love this race. Chattanooga does races so well and it’s such a pretty town for racing (Ironman, anyone?). It feels like a big city race in the start finish area, and along the parks and downtown areas. But once you get out of the immediate downtown, there is some pretty course and some not so pretty course. The course is so-so, as I imagine most downtown courses are. But it’s not a bad course at all, just not super great scenery.
The race festival area and post race stuff are all great. You finish downtown and can walk to cafes, coffee shops, great places to eat, or you can plop down in the grass by the river, where the finish line is. There are aid stations and they were stocked well, and the packet pickup is also smooth on race day.
There are hotels within easy walking distance from the hotel and unless you are on a shoestring budget I’d recommend staying downtown. There is a lot of parking along the river but these parking lots are linear and so you may need to walk a couple of minutes to the start line. And Chattanooga has plenty of parking spaces, but again, you may need to walk a couple of minutes.
I give this race four starts because it’s great, but not A+… meaning, it would be perfect if you were, say, running on the rim of the Grand Canyon? Everyplace can’t have that, and this is about as great a race as you are going to find for small town urban races. I can’t think of anything I’d change about this race, except perhaps move the few miles of busy road running to something a bit more quiet. But that’s a minor complaint.
Nice race
Course has a few hills and is mostly on asphalt with some cement and brick areas and a section on carpet. Also a long wooden bridge. Race has pacers. There … MORE
Course has a few hills and is mostly on asphalt with some cement and brick areas and a section on carpet.
Also a long wooden bridge. Race has pacers. There are mile markers, timing mats, plenty of water/gatorade stops and portapots along the course. Good refreshments after race. Short sleeve shirt and nice medal. Results posted fast and free photos.
Amazing event shown in every detail
This relatively small town race has a big town feel. Everything was top notch, from check in, swag, and medals. They also did the Chattanooga "Challenge" Medal which was enormous, … MORE
This relatively small town race has a big town feel. Everything was top notch, from check in, swag, and medals. They also did the Chattanooga “Challenge” Medal which was enormous, if you ran the 5k on Saturday and any race on Sunday you received this. The finish line was long and it felt like a Major Marathon with fencing, signs, spectators, the announcer, I recognized from IRONMAN events, and the live feed on the Jumbotron. They left nothing out of this race, every detail made it feel like a big time event. The city of Chattanooga is so much fun and I would definitely recommend this event!
Hilly course, but a good time
This was my second time running this race. They changed to add some bridges, which in turn added more hills to a rather rolling course. I always enjoy the production … MORE
This was my second time running this race. They changed to add some bridges, which in turn added more hills to a rather rolling course. I always enjoy the production though. They do a good job of promotion and getting lots of people involved. It’s a two-loop course which is tough for marathoners doing the elevation twice. Nonetheless, I still think it’s the best race in the city! Great swag and city involvement. The course goes through some of the best parts of the city.
COULD have been great but...
I'm a nice person and don't like to write bad reviews, but... Chattanooga held their inaugural marathon this month. It's a cool town, good restaurants, and probably will be a … MORE
I’m a nice person and don’t like to write bad reviews, but…
Chattanooga held their inaugural marathon this month. It’s a cool town, good restaurants, and probably will be a great event down the road, so this review is only for this first race.
The course itself is fine. Not beautiful and scenic, but interesting and varied enough to be good. It’s quite hilly, has some nice river views and bridge crossings, goes through some industrial areas and some residential ones, so again, quite varied. The expo was okay but the downside was it’s at the start of the 5k and fun run the day before the marathon, so if you drive it’s tricky to get to it first thing in the morning. The t-shirt was meh, smaller fit than normal but nice, soft material.
The race start went off without a hitch, and the first three miles or so (maybe more) were spot on, according to my GPS. Then things fell apart. Somewhere in there they had a cone set up for a turnaround but it was about a tenth of a mile too soon, meaning that the course was technically about a quarter mile or so short of an actual marathon. THIS is the major fail. It’s your inaugural event, THE most important thing you can do is make sure that your Boston-qualifying certified course is correct, and yet they didn’t do that.
For most people this probably doesn’t bother them and they don’t care; I think Boston will adjust your times and other clubs make exceptions when the race screws something up. For someone trying to run a marathon in all 50 states, however, it’s a very expensive mistake that means we have to redo a state if we want a certified finish at the end of all 50. So, their .20 mile short race cost me a lot of money and time and wear and tear on my body. And there was no official acknowledgment for days after this happened, even when local news was picking it up as a major SNAFU. So, sure, this race might be dandy next year or the year after, but for me, it was a waste of time and even if they gave me free entry I wouldn’t go back.
Short mismarked course
Tough challenging course. No real expo. Plain technical shirt. Course was mismarked at about mile 5.5 and was about 1/4 mile short. Race director did not notify marathoners for almost MORE
Tough challenging course. No real expo. Plain technical shirt. Course was mismarked at about mile 5.5 and was about 1/4 mile short. Race director did not notify marathoners for almost one week.
I would do it again
Overall well organized. This inaugural race was sold out but I never felt crowded once I crossed the start line. I did not catch the name of the woman who … MORE
Overall well organized. This inaugural race was sold out but I never felt crowded once I crossed the start line. I did not catch the name of the woman who performed the national anthem but WOW!! Best accapella performance ever! The course begins flat and the first real uphill is in front of the aquarium. A long climbing hill. You have a few rollers until you arrive at about mile 6 where the hills rise up (few choice words were uttered from those around me) and keep going until around 10.5 where you start your quick decent and continue on flats to the finish. The full and half distances split at mile 2, again around mile 9 and are well marked. The course scenery is OK as you will run through some industrial areas with no one around and over several railroad tracks but the old neighborhoods are beautiful. Official support – packet pick up, volunteers, water stops were great. They had coke, oranges and some had candy on the course for runners. Neighborhoods came out to support and cheer. The medal is nice – large and simple. I was hoping it would have the colors of the logo which by the way was clever – if you were running the full the top color – green -was your shirt color, directional marker and ribbon color, blue for the half and orange for the relay teams. Post race – You are given a voucher on your bib for your choice of lunch from one of several vendors. I had the burger from Events with Taste and was impressed. I would do this race again.