← Back to Big Sur Briefing

knoxville marathon course guide: neighborhoods, landmarks, and what to expect

The Knoxville Marathon is a loop course that starts and finishes in downtown Knoxville and takes you through roughly a dozen distinct neighborhoods, two river crossings, a university campus, a greenway system, and the shadows of a 266-foot golden globe left over from the 1982 World's Fair. It is, very deliberately, a tour of the city.

the start

You line up on the bridge near the Knoxville Convention Center, with the Sunsphere visible behind you. The start is organized by corrals, and the field includes marathon, half marathon, and relay runners all going out at 7:30 AM. Expect crowding for the first mile or two as the groups separate.

miles 1 to 3: downtown and ut campus

The course heads through downtown before winding onto the University of Tennessee campus. You'll pass near Neyland Stadium, the 101,915-seat home of the Volunteers. Even though you don't finish there anymore, running past it is a moment. It's bigger in person.

miles 3 to 7: neyland drive and sequoyah hills

Neyland Drive runs along the Tennessee River and is one of the flatter sections. You'll turn onto Kingston Pike, then south toward Sequoyah Hills, one of Knoxville's most established residential neighborhoods. The houses are large, the trees are old, and the residents come out to cheer. You'll hear Rocky Top at least once on this stretch.

miles 7 to 10: the hill and the loop

The climb up Noelton Drive is the most significant single grade on the course, and it arrives at exactly the point where the excitement of the start has worn off. After The Hill, you continue rolling through the western end of the Sequoyah Hills loop.

miles 10 to 13: third creek greenway

The greenway is tree-lined, mostly flat, protected from traffic, and quiet. Several runners have described turning off their music and just listening to the water and the birds. At the end, you emerge at World's Fair Park, where the half marathon runners split off.

miles 13 to 17: fourth and gill and parkridge

Fourth and Gill is a historic district with Victorian homes and vocal residents. This is also the section where the marathon-only runners separate from the larger half marathon field, which means the course gets quieter.

miles 17 to 22: south knoxville and island home

Island Home has won the marathon's "Best Neighborhood" award multiple times. Locals set up unofficial aid stations with pizza rolls, candy, snacks, and yes, occasionally beer. The terrain is gentle. The support is genuine.

miles 22 to 26.2: return and the sunsphere finish

The course comes back across the river, down along the Neyland Greenway past Calhoun's restaurant, and into downtown. You finish in World's Fair Park beneath the golden sphere of the Sunsphere, which, if you are from a certain generation, you might recognize as the building that Bart Simpson called a wig shop.