The third annual City of Knoxville CrossKnox 15K and 5K Walk will be held at 3 p.m., Sunday, October 11, and, as always, will travel across Knoxville, east to west.

The 9.3-mile point-to-point race is run completely on greenways beginning 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 in 2007 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. "In only three years, the race has become a Fall tradition for Knoxville." 
 
The initial CrossKnox 15k Race in 2007 had 468 participants and nearly 500 runners registered for the November 2008 event.

The 5k Walk travels from the Alex Haley Statue to the Sunsphere along a route that only crosses one major street intersection. 

"We've been pleased with the success of our first two years of the CrossKnox Race and we hope to see it grow over time," said Mayor Bill Haslam, "The race has been very successful in illustrating how many different places in the city you can access from the greenways." 
 
Betty Schohl, the former executive director of the Knoxville Track Club, is the new race director.

The new City's greenway ranger, Matt Butzlaff, will also be helping with the race. Butzlaff was hired in September and monitors the greenway system along the CrossKnox route. 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.

Early registration for the race is $20 and registration after October 1, 2009 is $25. Registration fees include short-sleeved, dri-fit shirts. To register online, or for more information about the CrossKnox 15K, please visit www.cityofknoxville.org/recreation/crossknox.asp .