Revamped Nashville Rock 'n' Roll Marathon course will be flatter and faster

There is good news for runners hoping to finish the 25th St. Jude Nashville Rock ‘n’ Roll Marathon faster since the course will have fewer hills when it takes place on the streets of downtown next month.

After tweaking the marathon course the last two years, officials made much bigger changes for the 2023 race set for April 22. The changes included removing a significant amount of elevation at the halfway mark along with the monotony of running two loops through Shelby Bottoms Park near the end.

"Overall we're losing about 500 feet of elevation so that's huge," race director Erica Larson said. "We believe the runners will be really happy with that and some of the other changes we've made."

Officials were able to remove about one-third of the course's elevation by returning to Metro Center, a portion that had been removed in the last two races. Instead of coming out of Metro Center on Great Circle Road, which is a climb, for the first time ever the course will move to the Cumberland River Greenway and take that flat trek back to the Nashville Sounds' First Horizon Stadium and then head downhill toward East Nashville.

A second loop through Shelby Bottom Park was added when Metro Center was eliminated. Runners let officials know they did not care for that because it included a hill to get back to the park entrance after the first loop and having to run through the park twice was mentally taxing.

"We'll just be doing the normal run around Shelby Park, which runners have always liked," Larson said. "That is a relatively flat one loop around, so that is an improvement."

The half-marathon course will be the same as last year.

The other big change for marathon and half-marathon runners will be a new finish-line location. Instead of being on the north side of Nissan Stadium, it will be on the south side finishing on Victory Avenue.

That will be a more aesthetically pleasing finish with the city's skyline in the background. It is also a more lively area nearer to Lot R and beneath the John Seigenthaler Pedestrian Bridge, where there is a beer garden, vendors, food trucks and a stage for the postrace concert.

The trophy presentation stage has always been in that area.

"In the past, runners have had to walk all the way from the finish line to get to all those activities," Larson said. "This way we'll just dump them right there."

COVID 19 took a toll on the number of participants in the event, which was canceled in 2020. Registration dropped to around 12,000 in 2021 and was back up to about 18,000 in 2022. Larson expects a return to pre-pandemic numbers this year with already more than 20,000 signed up.

The Doggie Dash was brought back last year, joining the Adult 1 Mile and Kidsrock races on April 23. More than 100 dogs were signed up for that in 2022, and Larson said it is expected to grow significantly this year.

The prerace Health & Fitness Expo, where participants pick up their race packets, has moved from Music City Center to the Municipal Auditorium. It will be April 20-21 inside the Musicians Hall of Fame and Museum in the auditorium.

"That should a really cool experience and tie into what we do at Rock 'n' Roll with the music and the stages for bands to perform throughout the course," Larson said.

To register for the race or for more information visit bit.ly/3JucziL.

Belmont's Ben Sheppard declares for NBA Draft

As expected, Belmont basketball standout Ben Sheppard declared eligible for the NBA Draft.

Several NBA scouts showed up for most of Belmont's home games to watch Sheppard, a senior from Atlanta who had one more year of eligiblity.

The 6-foot-6 guard was named a finalist last week for the Lou Henson National Player of the Year award.

Sheppard, who averaged 18.8 points and 5.2 rebounds, was the only player this season named to the All-Missouri Valley Conference first team and All-Defensive team. He finished his career with more than 1,500 points, 450 rebounds, 200 assists and 100 steals.

Local basketball players transferring

Sheppard isn't the only Belmont player leaving early. Even Brauns, a 6-9 center from Iowa City, transferred to Iowa.

He was a 30-game starter who led Belmont in rebounds (5.3) and blocked shots (1.4).

Bruins reserves Michael Shanks, E.J. Bellinger and Frank Jakubicek entered the transfer portal.

Also, Tennessee State's Learic Davis, a 6-7 freshman who redshirted this season, has transferred to Milwaukee and reserve Tigers point guard Tajik Bartholomew entered the transfer portal.

Part-time starting Lipscomb sophomore guard Trae Benham and backup guard Tommy Murr entered the transfer portal along with Austin Peay starting guard Sam Durugordon, center Elijah Hutchins-Everette and part-time starting forward Caleb Stone-Carrawell.

If you have an item for Midstate Chatter contact Mike Organ at 615-259-8021 or on Twitter @MikeOrganWriter.

This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Revamped Nashville Rock 'n' Roll Marathon course is flatter and faster