The Knoxville Marathon is the premier event of the Knoxville Track Club (KTC), a 501c(3) nonprofit located in Knoxville, TN. The event is produced by the KTC, with the help of the City of Knoxville, the University of Tennessee, and the title sponsor, Covenant Health. The Knoxville Track Club is …
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The Knoxville Marathon is the premier event of the Knoxville Track Club (KTC), a 501c(3) nonprofit located in Knoxville, TN. The event is produced by the KTC, with the help of the City of Knoxville, the University of Tennessee, and the title sponsor, Covenant Health.
The Knoxville Track Club is among the top ten largest track and field clubs in the U.S. The KTC encourages life-long physical well-being through running and walking. We offer year round programs that include running and walking events for people of all ages.
Playing an active role in the community, we raise monies at our own road races as well as assisting others for a variety of worthy causes, including, but not limited to the Boys and Girls Club of the Tennessee Valley, the Arthritis Foundation, the American Cancer Society, Knox County Schools, Legacy Parks Foundation, and local youth organizations.
We support high school track & field programs, direct the 50 year old Volunteer Track Classic for high schools, sponsor middle school awards for both spring and fall, participate in the Adopt-a-Highway and Adopt-a-Creek programs, are actively involved in the Knoxville Greenways Program, and give financial support to the University of Tennessee Women’s and Men’s Track teams. Our KTC Officials Association assists in and trains officials for area track and field meets. Without question KTC Officials Association is the largest and most talented group of judges, timers, and race officials in the southeast; their ranks include members who have participated in USATF National Meets, Olympic Trials and the Olympic Games.
The inaugural event was held March 20, 2005.
The CHKM is the only road race to finish on the 50 yard line of Neyland Stadium, home of the University of Tennessee Volunteers.
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Super fun, varied course in great town!
This may have been my favorite half thus far! The course was really enjoyable with a lot of varied scenery - first downtown, then along a river, through a friendly … MORE
This may have been my favorite half thus far! The course was really enjoyable with a lot of varied scenery – first downtown, then along a river, through a friendly neighborhood with adorable signs and locals playing music and giving out “power boost” high fives, and then several miles along a tranquil greenway where I turned off the AirPods and enjoyed the nature sounds. I was worried the hills would get me since I didn’t train for them whatsoever, but they were gentle with plenty of flat stretches throughout. There were tons of aid stations, all including Gatorade, and the post race food selection and love band were awesome! I only wish they allowed for a morning of packet pick up and that the shirt and medal were cuter.
Rocky Top - Home Sweet Home
Knoxville comes out to o support its runners in an incredible way. From start to finish, they’re people to cheer you on. The hills are not as bad as many … MORE
Knoxville comes out to o support its runners in an incredible way. From start to finish, they’re people to cheer you on. The hills are not as bad as many people say, though it is certainly not a flat course.
You will find yourself in for a treat if you run this race.
Negatives: time notifications might be off a bit. The t-shirt design could have been better. And the course ends up being a bit longer than 26.2. My gps clocked me at 26.56 from starting line to finish line.
Consider Knoxville for a Tennessee Half
I am a local and have volunteered at the Knoxville Marathon weekend over the years but never was interested in running - I know the routes from training and driving. … MORE
I am a local and have volunteered at the Knoxville Marathon weekend over the years but never was interested in running – I know the routes from training and driving. This year the half fit my training schedule so I was able to appreciate the race in a whole new way. The Knoxville Half Marathon is one of the top halfs I have ran. The productions is excellent and the course does a great job showing off Knoxville at it’s best.
The races start and finish from Worlds Fair Park downtown, a scenic area with grass and water and two conventions centers. Hotels and restaurants are plentiful good, all within easy walking distance of the start. For race day arrival, there is abundant parking in the garages downtown. Packet pickup was Saturday, the day before race day. The hours are all day and the expo was good sized and varied.
The course goes thru the University of Tennessee, along the Tennessee river, thru the old and grand neighborhood of Sequoyah Hills, back along a greenway, thru “the hill” student apartment area, and back to Worlds Fair Park.
The swag was a nice medal, cotton poly blend distance specific shirt, and a visor for the half distance. Post race food was pizza, breakfast biscuits, energy bars, fruit, and potato chips, all under a huge tent with seating.
My watch had total ascent of 725 ft, there was definite uphill in places but never anything I had to walk. Aid stations were plentiful and there was an unofficial one with just two things – bacon strips being fried on the spot and homemade chocolate chip cookies. I don’t know what else I would ever ask for, even though I no longer eat those things – I still appreciate their perfectness in that time and place.
2023 benefited from perfect running weather – clear all day, no wind, and 37 at the start and no more than 40 two hours later. There were 506 marathon finishers and 1,483 half marathon finishers, to me a nice manageable size. And, like another reviewer said, you do get to hear Rocky Top at least once. This race left me with a new civic appreciation for Knoxville, Tennessee.
Really Great Race
This race is a really scenic race in Knoxville. You run through the major sites in town as well and by the river. The packet pickup was easy and the … MORE
This race is a really scenic race in Knoxville. You run through the major sites in town as well and by the river. The packet pickup was easy and the expo was large. The water stops were all manned by very enthusiastic volunteers. The course was marked well. The beer at the end was nice, but one of the frustrating things was they gave you a wristband and a ticket that you had to use for the beer. Not easy keeping that ticket safe for 26.2 miles.
The marathon shirt was painfully ugly, that got donated before I even got home, but it was nice that they give all finishers a hat.
I would recommend this race.
Great TN race
Thoroughly enjoyed this race. Packet pickup was a breeze, finding everything (including parking) was no problem which is usually about half of my nervousness. The weather was fantastic, super supportive … MORE
Thoroughly enjoyed this race. Packet pickup was a breeze, finding everything (including parking) was no problem which is usually about half of my nervousness. The weather was fantastic, super supportive volunteers and staff and actually a rather good showing of locals that were out encouraging runners as well. Finish line had free photos and quite a bit of food as well as vendors if you wanted to buy a meal.
Goodrace, Scenic Neighborhoods and Hills
beautiful city and mid sized race. Easy packet pickup at convention center and good no of business and counters on race course etc. Easy near by parking on city garages … MORE
beautiful city and mid sized race.
Easy packet pickup at convention center and good no of business and counters on race course etc.
Easy near by parking on city garages free
7.30 start and runners can stand inside convention center before start
first few miles around UT and then into beautiful neighborhoods before heading into downtown in last few miles.
The course is hilly but enjoyable with local support.
Good post race party with lots of food inside and beer.
Scruffy City
I'm local, so I love this one. It's a fairly hilly course that takes you through the University of Tennessee campus, past Neyland Stadium, along the river, through some beautiful … MORE
I’m local, so I love this one. It’s a fairly hilly course that takes you through the University of Tennessee campus, past Neyland Stadium, along the river, through some beautiful neighborhoods, and along the greenway. It finishes in World’s Fair Park beneath the Sun Sphere. There is usually great crowd support, with lots of signs, folks dressed up, music performances, etc. You can pretty much guarantee you’ll hear “Rocky Top” at some point along the course. I think it’s a right of passage in Knoxville.
The swag is nice, pretty typical of a half marathon, with a tee shirt (some years have been cotton, others have been performance material) and medal. Post race there is food for finishers, but also food-truck type options in the park. Free finish line photos included, and pre-covid they included a Finish Line video, which was neat.
Parking is fairly easy even though the race starts downtown. There are lots of free garages nearby.
I would add this one to your list, and it would be a good TN race if you need one. I’ll run it every year, certainly.
Some hills, but easy race to run
I ran this race simply because I wanted to get another Marathon under my built. This was my 32nd Marathon. The things that stand out for me that the race … MORE
I ran this race simply because I wanted to get another Marathon under my built. This was my 32nd Marathon. The things that stand out for me that the race staff were very accommodating for me as I arrived at the end of the day to get my packet and the sherpas. During the race there were a couple of steep hills and the race provided sherpas in the form of young teenagers who ran along side of you and helped you run up the hill by encouraging you. It is the only race I have ever done where this was the case and it was cool.
Great early year race!
They held a contest to see which neighborhood had the best cheering squad, so some of these went all out! Very nice city to run in. Somehow I managed to … MORE
They held a contest to see which neighborhood had the best cheering squad, so some of these went all out! Very nice city to run in. Somehow I managed to miss where they were handing out race shirts at the end and they actually mailed one to me for free! I thought that was pretty decent attention to detail. We stayed right next door to the park where the race was to be held so that made it super easy to just walk out the door to the race. The course is kinda hilly and there is everything from decayed industrial to some of the nicest homes in the city. Overall a very nice race to run to get you charged up for the spring running season.
Tough run but good cheering
Rough course but the cheering on the half is great! I wouldn’t recommend it for a first half but I am a local so it’s an easy one to travel … MORE
Rough course but the cheering on the half is great!
I wouldn’t recommend it for a first half but I am a local so it’s an easy one to travel for 🙂 I’ve ran it 8 times
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So Many Hills
If I would have done some research on this one, I would have known about all of the hills! I was definitely not prepared. The course ran through some beautiful … MORE
If I would have done some research on this one, I would have known about all of the hills! I was definitely not prepared. The course ran through some beautiful parts of town. The Tennessee hospitality was great and the expo was easy to navigate.