Thousands of people put their training to the ultimate test in the 2018 Covenant Health Knoxville Marathon, and hundreds finished either the half marathon's 13.1-mile long course, or the full marathon's 26.2 grueling miles.
The first to cross the finish line in their respective categories were Christian Thompson and Stephanie Cloutier in the half marathon, and Gina Rouse and Bryan Morseman in the full marathon.
PHOTOS: Covenant Health Knoxville Marathon
The opening ceremony took place at the start line at World's Fair Park starting around 7:20 a.m. before the race stepped off moments later. Below are updates as they happened through the race.
Be sure to send us your marathon pictures using the hashtag #10Runs! We'll be gathering and posting as many of your photos as possible through the day right here on WBIR.com.
PHOTOS: At the finish line of the Covenant Health Knoxville Marathon
You can check live results of the full marathon by name or bib number at his link as soon as people start crossing the finish line.
A total of 670 people signed up to run the full marathon this morning, and a whopping 2,308 people will fill the streets of downtown compete in the half marathon. Including the relay races, Saturday's 5K race and the Covenant Kids Run -- more than 8,300 people in all participated this year!
The full marathon is 26.2 miles in total. If you were watching -- the full marathon runners were wearing yellow bibs, and the half marathon runners were wearing green bibs.
The first finishers in the half marathon crossed the finish line at Neyland Stadium roughly about an hour after the race began -- roughly finishing at 8:35. The full marathon runners started crossing over an hour later around 9:50 a.m.
The male and female winners of the full marathon will each take home a nice $1,500 cash purse, and the half marathon winners will take home $500 each. You can check out the total prize winnings here.
Covenant Health Knoxville Marathon Photobooth!
Check out the marathon route below:
The weather this morning seems to be good for running. A few stray showers passed through early on, but the rest of the morning will be cloudy and cool with temps hovering in the mid and upper 40s for most of the marathon. Definitely will want to bring a jacket or blanket if you're on the sidelines!
6:30 a.m.:
Things are set up for the 7:20 marathon step off! Volunteers are setting up to keep runners hydrated at water stations.
Check out some of the signs lining the race route!
Who's up for some Rocky Top at 7 in the morning? That's how you start a marathon in Knoxville!
For the less serious contenders... we spotted a curious runner in the crowd:
The leaders in the half marathon show no signs. Christian Thompson and Jason McLeod traded off spots as they ran nearly side-by-side for the first leg heading around the Sequoyah Hills neighborhood. Behind them, 22-year-old Ben Tuttle held onto a solid third place lead.
We have a winner at the half marathon! Christian Thompson has won the men's half marathon with an unofficial time of 1:09:48! Definitely impressive for 13.1 miles!
Jason McLeod was close behind and took second with a time of 1:10:12, and Ben Tuttle took third with 1:12:02. Full results can be found here.
Bryan Morseman continued to command a lead in the marathon as he passed through the 18 mile mark running through the Old City. There is still plenty of running left -- the marathon will take him and other contenders hoping to finish all 26.2 miles across the river and around Island Home Park, before it takes them on a run for the Gay Street Bridge and into the final leg through the heart of downtown.
For the second time since his win in 2016, Bryan Morseman is the men's winner of the 2018 Covenant Health Knoxville Marathon with a time of 2:27:11. Ethan Coffey finished second with a time of 2:29:19. Congrats, Bryan and Ethan! Check the full results at this link.
Gina Rouse pulled off the three-peat, winning yet another Covenant Health Knoxville Marathon with a time of 2:56:33! Congrats, Gina!