New Year’s Day 5km Run/Walk and 1 Mile Kids’ Run

By Suzanne Oliver, Race Director

Happy New Year 2024! Our first race of the year was a terrific kickoff with 625 total registrations which included 579 5km registrants, 13 virtual 5km’ers, and 33 kid mile runners. We had 510 finishers for the 5km and all 33 kids did a great job logging their first mile for the year. We appreciate Tennessee Sports Medicine Group (TSMG) for their sponsorship and willingness to open their facility to allow us to complete our check-in, after race activities and awards announcements inside in a warm space. Several runners enjoyed the stretching provided by their staff following the race too.

As is part of our tradition with this race, the first 100 male and first 100 female runners received a glass with our race logo imprinted on it. Our logo this year was created by the design team from z21 communications – we love the Year of the Dragon design and look forward to future logos from this company. We were able to use the fun logo on our race giveaway beanie hats too.

The top male and top female finishers received a BOCO backpack while the 2nd place finishers received a BOCO hat purchased at The Long Run, one of race sponsors. Our top male was Blaine Metcalf and top female was Mary Alex Gary. The second-place finishers were Darren Driscoll and Elizabeth Herndon respectively.

Another tradition for this race is to acknowledge our oldest and youngest finishers with the oldest receiving a bottle of champagne and the youngest earning a bottle of sparkling cider. Ed Smith And Eli Miller earned these annual awards this year.

Race photos provided by Todd Temple and Michael DeLisle are available here. We appreciate the time and skill they brought to the morning activities. It is always fun to find your race photo
after putting in the work to train and participate in races.

As race director, I also want to thank the Knoxville Police and Fire Departments for their presence on the road and greenway. Safety for our participants is a priority and having their support for our community is appreciated. KTC races could not be completed successfully without our KTC staff, Executive Director Eric Weatherbee and Events Manager Jessica Mead. They were amazingly  organized and supportive before and during the event. In addition, KTC members, friends, and volunteers were key to the overall success for the morning – from registration, set-up/breakdown of the course, start and finish lines, water stop assistance and other necessary race activities – it truly takes a team effort!