The City of Knoxville held a press conference at 3:00 p.m. on Thursday, October 23, on Volunteer Landing to announce the date and sponsor of the 2008 Mercy Health Partners CrossKnox 15k Race.

The 9.3-mile CrossKnox race is run completely on greenways, starting at the Alex Haley Statue in Morningside Park in East Knoxville and ending at Bearden Elementary School in West Knoxville.

The City's Parks and Recreation Department started the race to highlight how the city's greenways connect from east to west across Knoxville. Participants are transported by bus back to Morningside Park for a post-race party. 

"The CrossKnox Race proved to be a fun way for citizens to learn about the options of our greenway system," said Joe Walsh, Parks and Recreation Director. "Many of the runners and walkers commented about experiencing a park or greenway that they had never seen until the race." 
 
The initial CrossKnox 15k Race in 2007 had 468 participants.

An addition to the run this year's CrossKnox event will include a 5k walk to World's Fair Park through the new Second Creek Greenway, which was just opened in February 2008. 
 
"We were very happy with the success of our initial CrossKnox Race last year and we hope to see it grow over time," said Mayor Bill Haslam, "A lot of folks told us how much they enjoyed running in it and I think it was also successful in illustrating just how many different places in the city you can access from the greenways." 
 
"We were also pleased to add the Second Creek Greenway to the system earlier this year and we look forward to more additions in the future," he added.

Something else that is new about the race is its sponsor. Mercy Health Partners have committed to title sponsorship of the 2008 race.

"Mercy Health Partners is excited to partner with the city on this event that will highlight the greenway system and encourage healthier lifestyles for the people of our community," said Mercy Senior Vice President of External Affairs Jerry Askew. "Mercy is committed to the prevention and management of many chronic diseases our citizens face such as diabetes, high blood pressure, heart problems and obesity."

"In many cases, the first step in treating these chronic ailments is to take a step down one of the city's greenways on a hike to better health. Mercy's physicians and staff are advising their patients to have a more active lifestyle to reduce the impact of these diseases on their patients and to reduce the nation's healthcare bill for treating these chronic problems.

"I want to thank Mayor Haslam for his leadership in this area by promoting and expanding the city's greenway network in Knoxville. It is helping to make a great city even greater," Askew added.

The City has over 41 miles of greenway throughout Knoxville, including more than 16 miles of connected greenways from Morningside Park, through downtown Knoxville and the University of Tennessee area and out to Bearden and along Southerland Avenue.

Those include the Morningside, James White, Neyland, Second Creek, Third Creek, Sequoyah, and Bearden Village greenways.

The development of a Knox-Blount Greenway that would eventually run from Neyland Greenway all the way to Knox County's Marine Park in South Knoxville is currently in the planning stages.

Early registration for the race is $20 and registration after November 10, 2008 is $25. Registration fees include long-sleeved, dri-fit shirts.