Chattanooga Marathon races into second year
A misplaced turnaround marker that left the full marathon course 0.28 miles short stole many of the post-race headlines from last year’s inaugural Erlanger Chattanooga Marathon.
However, the positives from the debut event left race officials plenty to build on for year two.
The Chattanooga Marathon returns this weekend with a fresh infusion of local energy, a new method for
laying out the course, and a field of thousands of runners prepared to spend their Sunday racing through the heart of the city.
“We had a wonderful production last year, so we’re only looking to increase the quality this year,” Chattanooga Sports Committee President Tim Morgan said. “We’ve got a lot of people working together to make that happen.”
Downtown buzzed with a combined 3,000 runners across the Saturday kids run and 5K, and Sunday’s half and full marathons. Thousands more cheered from the finish line outside Finley Stadium or from neighborhoods around town.
Forecasts Wednesday called for dry, cloudy weather and high temperatures around 60 degrees for this year’s race. Weather is unpredictable, but Morgan issued a hopeful outlook for the number of participants.
Last year’s full marathon featured 639 runners while the half included 1,601.
“We’re a little down on the marathon, but that’s more of a national trend with races themselves,” he said of the number of runners expected to attend. “We’re definitely higher on the half marathon and higher on the 5K. So we’re on pace to exceed last year’s number of runners.”
Runners who planned to use last year’s Chattanooga Marathon as their Tennessee race for entry into the 50 States Marathon Club had to find another race to complete in the state after the course miscue invalidated their ability to count the race towards entry into the club.
Others who hoped to use their time to qualify for high-profile events such as the Boston Marathon had to wait for time adjustments. Those affected by the error were offered a discounted rate for this year’s event.
Morgan added that, instead of relying on volunteers to place course markers and turnarounds, the USA Track and Field course certifier is returning on race day to lay the course out himself and make sure the distances are exactly right.
The full marathon’s jaunt through St. Elmo early in the race has been re-arranged and is followed by a new section of the Tennessee Riverwalk. Full marathoners also hit the North Shore, Fort Wood, Highland Park, and Jefferson Heights before arriving on the Southside, where a festive atmosphere awaits finishers along Reggie White Boulevard.
Both the half and full marathon courses start in the center of downtown at Broad and Fifth streets, and the half marathon course is unchanged from last year.
Chattanooga Track Club manager Stacey Malecky said there has been little trouble recruiting the 500-600 volunteers needed to work the courses.
“Because it covers so many different corners, the number of people on the course and the number of aid stations is really high,” she said. “There are 100 people just pointing on both courses. It’s a huge number.”
First Tennessee Pavilion will host live music, an expo and food. The festivities kick off Friday afternoon.
“I think last year there was a bit of a learning curve in terms of the expo,” Malecky said. “Our happy hour on Friday should be great. Even if you’re not running, there’s so much energy around these events that make it fun to come out.”