St. Jude Rock 'n' Roll Nashville Marathon: Pacing & Race-Day Strategy
Music City’s marathon — a genuinely hilly, live-music course that rewards effort over a fast clock.
- Where:
- Nashville, Tennessee
- When:
- April
- Course:
- Hilly · rolling · point-to-point
- Best run as:
- Even pace
Course & elevation
Nashville is a hilly, rolling course despite a modest net drop — the elevation profile hides relentless climbs, with the steepest grades concentrated in the second half, roughly miles 18–23. It runs point-to-point from downtown Broadway out through Nashville’s neighborhoods to a stadium finish. This is an experience-and-effort course, not a PR speedway.
- Start → Finish
- 450 → 520 ft
- Net
- +70 ft
- Total gain
- ≈ 590 ft
Key moments
- Mile 1Start on Broadway amid the honky-tonks, then onto Music Row.
- Mile 6–10Rolling climbs through Belmont and the city’s hilly neighborhoods.
- Mile 18–23The toughest, steepest climbs of the day — run by effort, not pace.
- Mile 26.2Finish at Nissan Stadium across the river.
Pacing strategy
Treat this as a hilly course and pace by effort — add time to a flat-course goal and don’t chase splits on the climbs. Stay controlled through the rolling first half so you can survive the relentless hills of miles 18–23.
Plan your mile splits
Enter your goal time to get a mile-by-mile pacing band for St. Jude Rock 'n' Roll Nashville Marathon. The even pace option is pre-selected to suit this course.
| Mile | Pace | Elapsed |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 9:09/mi | 9:09 |
| 2 | 9:09/mi | 18:18 |
| 3 | 9:09/mi | 27:28 |
| 4 | 9:09/mi | 36:37 |
| 5 | 9:09/mi | 45:46 |
| 6 | 9:09/mi | 54:55 |
| 7 | 9:09/mi | 1:04:05 |
| 8 | 9:09/mi | 1:13:14 |
| 9 | 9:09/mi | 1:22:23 |
| 10 | 9:09/mi | 1:31:32 |
| 11 | 9:09/mi | 1:40:41 |
| 12 | 9:09/mi | 1:49:51 |
| 13 | 9:09/mi | 1:59:00 |
| 14 | 9:09/mi | 2:08:09 |
| 15 | 9:09/mi | 2:17:18 |
| 16 | 9:09/mi | 2:26:28 |
| 17 | 9:09/mi | 2:35:37 |
| 18 | 9:09/mi | 2:44:46 |
| 19 | 9:09/mi | 2:53:55 |
| 20 | 9:09/mi | 3:03:05 |
| 21 | 9:09/mi | 3:12:14 |
| 22 | 9:09/mi | 3:21:23 |
| 23 | 9:09/mi | 3:30:32 |
| 24 | 9:09/mi | 3:39:41 |
| 25 | 9:09/mi | 3:48:51 |
| 26 | 9:09/mi | 3:58:00 |
| 26.22 | 9:09/mi | 4:00:00 |
Fueling & hydration
Aid stations roughly every 1.5–2 miles with water and sports drink, with bands between them. The hills and late-April warmth raise the workload — fuel ahead of climbs and drink more than on a flat, cool course.
Weather
Late-April Nashville is often warm and humid (highs commonly in the low 70s°F with high humidity, and hotter years happen) — heat and humidity are the defining race-day risks.
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