KNOXVILLE, Tenn. — Marathon weekend is here! The 2022 Covenant Health Knoxville Marathon festivities kick off Saturday and Sunday.
The actual marathon will happen on Sunday morning, March 27. Shorter races were held Saturday.
For the second year in a row, the winner of the 2022 Covenant Health Knoxville Marathon is 39-year-old Ethan Coffey. He is the first male to win the race three times.
Coffey's finish time was 2:31:13. He has an average pace of 5:47 minutes per mile.
Caroline Kimble, a 26-year-old from Nashville, was the first woman to cross the marathon finish line. Her finishing time was 3:07:42 and her average pace was 7:01 minutes per mile.
Alan Carreno from Las Vegas was the winner of the 2022 Covenant Health Knoxville Half Marathon.
Alan Carreno is a 29-year-old from Las Vegas. He came out on top with a finish time of 1:11:42. He had an average pace of 5:29 minutes per mile.
Gina Rouse, a 42-year-old from Knoxville, was the winner of the women's half marathon. She had a finish time of 1:20:03. Her average pace per mile was 6:07 minutes.
Photos: 2022 Covenant Health Knoxville Marathon
"I'm thrilled that we are able to host a springtime version of this event for the first time in three years this coming weekend," race director Jason Altman said.
Covenant Health announced it has also signed on to sponsor the event for three more years. The marathon is the largest road race in East Tennessee and is also a Boston Marathon qualifier.
All events started on the Clinch Avenue Bridge and finished at World's Fair Park, officials said.
“The Covenant Health Knoxville Marathon is returning this spring!” Altman said. "Having a fall race this year after several delays since 2019 was welcome, but we’re thrilled to celebrate race weekend’s homecoming as a spring event. On the heels of witnessing the strength and enthusiasm of participants earlier this month, let’s build on that momentum: Set a goal, sign up and start getting ready for an amazing race weekend in 2022.”
To help registrants prepare, group training runs began in December.
The long runs took place on most Saturdays at 7:30 a.m. Weekly group runs are free, open to the public, and require no registration. These training runs include pace groups and mileage options, ranging from beginner to advanced, officials said.