The third annual Covenant Health Knoxville Marathon promises to be bigger than ever, with more participants and greater involvement from the community and area businesses.

 Representatives of Covenant Health, the City of Knoxville and the Knoxville Track Club are pleased with overall participation and community support.

"This is a great event that has gotten better each year and, like a few thousand other runners, I'm looking forward to running on Sunday," said Mayor Bill Haslam. "I know we'll have some great races and a wonderful time running through Knoxville's neighborhoods."

"Covenant Health is very proud to be the presenting sponsor of Knoxville's largest community fitness event. The Covenant Health Knoxville Marathon inspires thousands of adults and children to exercise and to make physical fitness a priority in their lives," said Tony Spezia, president and CEO of Covenant Health. Spezia said he was especially pleased that the Cariten Kids' Run has more than 400 children participating this year.

550 runners are expected to run this year's marathon, 1600 runners are expected to run the half-marathon, 240 runners are part of four-person relay teams, 1000 are participating in the 5K and over 400 children are expected to participate in the Cariten Kids' Run.

The race this year will follow the same course as last year, beginning at 7 a.m. near the Knoxville Convention Center and winding through the neighborhoods of Fort Sanders, Sequoyah Hills, Fourth & Gill, Parkridge, Island Home, and Old Sevier, as well as downtown and the University of Tennessee campus.

Live entertainment will be featured at 19 different sites, and the Party Boys DJ Show will be at the start, finish, Pilot post-race party and several other locations.

Jason Altman, Covenant Health Knoxville Marathon race co-director, said community support - including more than 800 volunteers on race day - is what makes the event so successful. "We are able to offer race participants the experience of a lifetime. Everyone has pulled together to ensure we have safe races and a great time."

Race Co-director Mike Schoenberger added, "With the support of sponsors, we are able to offer race participants a wonderful experience - goody bags, the Pilot post-race party at the Carolyn P. Brown University Center, the Fittest Company Challenge and cash prizes for top finishers in both the marathon and half-marathon."

The marathon and half-marathon will begin at 7 a.m. Sunday on the Clinch Avenue Bridge over World's Fair Park, followed by the Cariten Kids' Run and the 5K Run. All races will finish on the 50-yard line inside the University of Tennessee's Neyland Stadium. Each runner's finish will be broadcast over the stadium's JumboTron.

The event will necessitate road and lane closures through the city - most streets will see staggered closures and re-openings. All streets are expected to be open by 2 p.m. Sunday.

Motorists who need to reach Fort Sanders Regional Medical Center and East Tennessee Children's Hospital on Sunday morning should take Alcoa Highway to the Cumberland Avenue exit and enter the Fort Sanders area via 20th Street. In addition, parking will be prohibited on Clinch Avenue between 11 th and 16 th Street, and vehicles parked on the street will be towed Saturday evening.

Maps of the course and recommended spectator viewing sites are available at www.knoxvillemarathon.com and www.cityofknoxville.org.

The Covenant Health Knoxville Marathon is a premier event organized by the Knoxville Track Club, a nonprofit 501(c)(3) organization dedicated to the encouragement of physical well being through running, jogging, competitive road racing, racewalking, fun runs, cross country, and track & field.

Covenant Health is a community-owned health system providing comprehensive health services throughout East Tennessee. Headquartered in Knoxville, Covenant Health includes five acute care hospitals with a total of more than 1500 licensed beds, as well as numerous outpatient services. The health system also includes specialty providers of behavioral, oncology, and rehabilitation services, along with home care, physician clinics, community wellness programs and managed care products and services. Covenant Health has more than 1000 affiliated physicians and 8000 employees.