Organizers Hope to Draw 5,000 Runners For First Ever Chattanooga Marathon

June 18, 2015

Rick Nyman,

Chattanooga-(WDEF) Chattanooga has hosted several major outdoor sporting events in recent years from the Ironman to the USA Cycling Championships.

With that kind of resume, why not create your own big time sporting event.

On Thursday, we got word on the new Chattanooga Marathon.

It’ll go down the first weekend in March, and organizers hope it will grow into something special.

Said the President of Chattanooga’s Visitors Bureau Bob Doak,"It’s my honor to announce the formation of a new community event. The brand new Chattanooga Marathon." (applause)

And the idea for the inaugural Chattanooga Marathon was basically crafted by area runners.

Said the President of the Chattanooga Sports Committee Tim Morgan,"It was the community coming forward and saying we want something. We want this. So we came together, and we are developing it."

Chattanooga Mayor Andy Berke felt it was a great idea, especially considering the praise he got after the city hosted a recent Ironman event.

"One of the Ironman executives said to me, ya’ll have as good of resources as any city in America. And you should have world class events, and you should only really shut down your streets and make sure things are available when you have something that’s high quality."

The Chattanooga Marathon will start at the Tennessee Aquarium and go through downtown and into St. Elmo before wrapping up at Finley Stadium.

Said Doak,"I asked Tim this morning, and he says he hopes that we have 5,000 runners the first year."

Added Morgan,"We don’t want to go head-to-head with another event that’s already 25 years in. We strategically positioned it for that particular weekend, March 4-6th, to give us a competitive advantage."

Sign-ups for the race will start in July, and Mayor Berke was already trying to get one entry.

"I want to volunteer today and make this pledge. I will pay Hamilton County Mayor (Jim) Coppinger’s entry fee into the Chattanooga Marathon." (laughter)
For more information on the race, you can go to the website chattanoogamarathon.com.