Relay team aims to break Covenant Health Knoxville Marathon record set in 2007
KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) — The Covenant Health Knoxville Marathon is just a few days away. Runners are getting their final training in including those running the four person relay.
Since 2007, a course record of 2:55:00 has stood for the marathon relay. Lauren Roth, Katie Baksa, Eliza Dickenson and Liz Whelply are hoping to break that record during this year's race. Knoxville's relay is not spilt into equal lengths; first leg is 6.8 miles, the second is 6.1, third leg is 7.0 miles, and the final leg is 6.3 miles.
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'I think the first goal is to have fun,' said Roth.
Dickenson added, 'And to wear Bound. We are going to be representing team Bound, so cheering on our friend here. If we can run hard, piece it together, it would be nice.'
'We've been texting each other over the last month or so, saying 'Ok, are you getting your workouts in are we ready?' We know what pace we need to hit to get the course record but it's going to be hard,' said Baksa.
The team will be wearing matching running sets made by Baksa's company Bound.
'That's one of my favorite things about my running friends and the running community as a whole. It's just a very positive, supportive group of people,' Dickenson said. 'It kind of makes you believe in yourself and makes you want to go after crazy goals or try crazy things and start stuff like a running apparel company, which is so amazing. Being able to support her in this way is exciting and fun.'
Where to cheer on runners during the 2025 Knoxville Marathon
The group has previously run 100 mile races in relay form, most recently in the Florida keys. They said this marathon course will be a lot easier for them.
'Oh yeah, that was also in Key West, very hot. This is just one leg versus like eight or nine,' they said.
Come race day you'll be able to tell them apart from the rest of the runners. The group likes to wear matching colors and outfits.
'We like to match to, so that's kind of fun. We're going to get our nails done, all the same color, we'll wear all the same colors,' Dickenson explained. 'We like to say, 'look fast, feel fast, be fast,' our nails and our outfit will help.'
What's the fastest Knoxville Marathon time ever recorded?
The record pace is right around a 6:33 mile. The group hoping they can put it all together and take home a new record.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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