The Knoxville Marathon is happening on April 2nd, 2023. This event is going to consist of a 2-Person Relay, 4-Person Relay, and the Half Marathon. This race will be held at the World’s Exhibition Hall at 935 World’s Fair Park Drive. Knoxville, TN. The race is a local event, but it is going to bring people from all around to run this fun and difficult excursion. The start of the Knoxville Marathon will be at 7:30 am.

This is Ryan Jandro’s (10) second time running a marathon and is very excited about the 2023 Knoxville Marathon. Jandro tells us why he is going to run this marathon.

“I’ve never run the whole thing before but I relayed it with some friends over the last two years, but this year I am going solo but I’m hoping to have plenty of family and friends somewhere along the course to kinda give me some motivation,” Jandro said.

Jandro has enjoyed running with his friends, but this year, he will try to do this alone.

“A few months ago, I set a personal goal to break 3 hours in the marathon before I turn 18; this will be my first attempt at getting that time,” Jandro said

Jandro has been keeping himself active in order to keep in good shape to stay on top of the competition.

“I haven’t been training directly for the marathon until only about a month ago because I didn’t know if I could get the director to approve me running in it or not, and it’s in the middle of the baseball season, so I haven’t really had the time or energy to get tons of miles, but I’ve done quite a few long runs on the weekends,” Jandro said.

Jandro is continuing to work towards his goal, and he is looking forward to the highlights of the race. 

“The highlights are definitely the crowd support and the other runners in the race; it’s a really fun time and a good community,” Jandro said.

Once the race is over, there are many things for the runner to celebrate and enjoy this great accomplishment. 

“Directly after the race, my plan is to hang out at the World’s Fair Park with my race team, and longer-term, I am going to rest and tone back training for a while and focus on baseball and school,” Jandro said

Jandro hopes to relax after his marathon journey and will focus on his academics while he waits for his next chance to run.