A marathon is about being in it for the long haul, and the St. Jude Rock ‘n’ Roll Nashville Marathon and Half Marathon have been doing this for some time. The popular race will celebrate its 25th year on April 26 with more than 25,000 runners set to prove the event is as strong as ever.
The number of participants dipped below 15,000 after the race was canceled in 2020 due to COVID, but has recovered to its normal numbers in time to celebrate its silver anniversary.
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The all-time number of participants for all events — marathon, half-marathon, 10K, 5K, 1-mile run and KiDS ROCK Marathon — was 32,000 from 2015 to 2019, and organizers are confident the race will reach that number again at some point.
Here’s a look at the evolution of the event, which began in 2000 as the Country Music Marathon:
Low numbers, fast times marked first County Music Marathon
About 7,500 runners showed up for the inaugural Country Music Marathon, which started in at Centennial Park. That was 2,000 fewer participants than had registered.
Luke Kibet from Kenya shattered state and city marathon record times by finishing in 2 hours, 12 minutes and 55 seconds. Lucia Subano, also from Kenya, was the top female finisher in 2:37:02.
Participation bolstered by addition of half marathon
After participant numbers dipped to under 6,000 for the second Country Music Marathon in 2001, concerns grew that the event may not survive. It was losing money and needed a jolt, which came when a half marathon was added in 2002.
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More than 11,500 total participants showed up for both races making the event stable enough financially to return in 2004. A decision also was made to make the full marathon course less challenging to increase participation.
Singer Sheryl Crow finished he 2012 St. Jude Rock ‘n’ Roll Nashville Half Marathon in under two hours.
“The first couple of years definitely were not the results we hoped for or expected coming out of the Rock ‘n’ Roll San Diego event that had 20,000 runners in the first year,” said Nashville marathon general manager Adam Zocks.
“We wanted to come to Nashville and see the same kind of results. The general consensus in the running world at that time was that people wouldn’t travel for half marathons. But that changed when we created Virginia Beach (in 2021), which was a half marathon only and people did travel to it. Then we saw people also travel to Nashville for a half marathon.”
Jeff Fisher, Eddie George, Sheryl Crow and Bill Belichick helped Nashville marathon
Jeff Fisher, coach of the Tennessee Titans at the time, completed the 2002 Country Music Marathon in 4:09:13, beating his target time by almost six minutes.
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The splash Fisher made by running the race was followed by several other recognizable figures who participated including Titans running back great Eddie George, who ran the half marathon in 2007, along with singers Sheryl Crow and Jo Dee Messina in 2012, former Titans wide receiver Derrick Mason in 2013, former New England Patriots coach Bill Belichick in 2014 and singer Kellie Pickler in 2017.
Scott Wietecha dominated Nashville marathon
Scott Wietecha, a high school cross-country coach, became the first local winner of the Country Music Marathon in 2013. He was only the second American to win the event. Ryan James from Belfast, Maine, had won the year before.
In its early years, elite runners from other countries were invited to the race. That practice stopped in 2012.
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Wietecha, who had finished second to James the previous year, won in 2:22:41 in a steady rain. Wietecha would go on to win the next six marathons.
In 2021, Wietecha said he had gained too much weight and was unable to train consistently due to COVID, which led to his decision not to compete any longer.
Runners start their route down Broadway during the National Anthem before the St. Jude Rock ’N’ Roll Nashville Marathon in Nashville , Tenn., Saturday, April 27, 2024.
New events, new name, new owner for Nashville marathon
Participation increased again when a 5K distance was added in 2015. More than 2,500 signed up for the first 5K bringing the overall number to a record 32,000
In 2016 the name was changed to St. Jude Rock ‘n’ Roll Nashville Marathon and Half Marathon. The event had long been part of the Rock ‘n’ Roll Running Series, which includes U.S. races in Arizona, Las Vegas, San Diego, San Jose and Washington, D.C., along with events in Spain and the Philippines.
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Another new event, the 1-mile run/walk, was added in 2017.
Nashville marathon moved to the fall
After COVID forced cancellation of the marathon and half marathon in 2020, it returned in 2021, but was moved from its traditional date in April to November. A much smaller field showed up with only about 12,000 participating in the full and half marathons.
Defending champion Will Cadwell from Cincinnati had signed up in 2020 before COVID. He forgot he had signed up and remembered just two months before the race and limited his training for the 26.2 miles.
Reach Mike Organ at 615-259-8021 or on X @MikeOrganWriter.
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Nashville marathon celebrates its 25th anniversary
