This is a community run through beautiful southern country. No extras, but none are needed here. The folks are friendly and provide all you need at aid stations. I've done it for many years and always intend to be back.

I decided to run this race at the last minute and the late registration afforded me that option. The race fee was reasonable, compared to the over-priced bigger marathons. There are lots of hotel choices and I stayed in the Best Western, which is only a little over a mile from the start/finish. Some of the benefits of this marathon include:

1. Post-race sandwiches, brownies, fruit, drinks at the end.
2. Indoor facilities to keep warm in and lounge around before/after race.
3. Showers available.
4. Beautiful course in the rural countryside of Tennessee.
5. Few runners, which allowed for no congestion at the start.
6. No chip timing, but not necessary.
7. Finisher's medal to all, and trophies that go three deep in age groups.
8. Start/finish in the same area on the Union University campus.

Things that were not necessarily problems, but you may want to note:
1. It's an open course to traffic. Be careful.
2. No clocks/timers at mile markers. If you want splits, wear a watch.
3. Headphones are discouraged, but people wore them anyway.
4. No pre-race meal.

Overall, a really nice race. I would run it again. Course has some gentle hills, but not anything too difficult, daunting, or intimidating.

I'd like to be realistic about this. This was a laid back race - not my first - but this race needs more organization. The Jameson Hotel (host), did not have information available for the runners when we started showing up late Friday morning, and they had difficulty getting a race official on the phone. No information about "packet pickup" was available through the hotel or online. The course map had the US 45 Bypass on the wrong side of the starting line so it was not clear where the starting line was. These are easy things to fix. Check-in started at 5:00 p.m. at the Jameson, and numbers were assigned as you got to the table, which was fine. No timing chips were used - no big deal.

Ten minutes before the start of the race, there was nobody at the starting line. A few of minutes later, a car pulled up, and a guy got out with a bull horn, and directed the start of the race. Wow!

The race course was runner-friendly, a back roads-type event run north of town, with only one major intersection to deal with coming back - and no law enforcement help on that corner either. Anyway, there were uphill sections the first mile, a couple inclines during mile 14, and a less significant incline last half mile. There simply were no spectators, but that was not surprising. There were water/Gatorade stations every 2 miles, and later stations had orange slices for carbs. The water station volunteers were cheerleaders too - the only fan support we got. I understand that there were only about 90 marathon runners, and folks got pretty spread out. I ran the whole second half alone, except when being passed by other runners.

The 26-mile marker was right by the starting point, but after you passed the 26-mile marker, you kind of had to chart your own course through a couple of unmarked turns to get in line with the finish gate. There were flags, and right at the end you could see the clock, which helped.

This was a good race, and I recommend it, but if you are used of a highly organized race, come prepared and with an open mind, and you should do fine.

A couple of added notes: I missed one of the turns heading back, and some friendly neighbors and a runner's husband, stationed at that corner, were right on top of it, keeping me on the straight and narrow, for which I am much obliged. Also, being from Colorado and alone, it was really cool that my brother and his wife came over from Nashville to meet me and cheer me across the finish line. At the finish line they gave me a card with a number on it to take inside. It was 86 (I believe), probably my finishing position. I put my name on it, turned it in, and hoped somebody correlated that number to my finishing time.

I ran this race for the first time and liked the way it was organized. It was funny when the organizer mentioned to 200+ half marathon participants that you are the biggest crowd so far. :-)

The organizers ensured there are no complaints and the course is beautiful landscape. Must run once. Probably they should think of having this race during fall time as this race conflicts with the Nashville Marathon, and most of them may not opt for this race.

Run once and you will know the difference.

It is amazing what a dedicated race director and staff can do with meager resources. The Andrew Jackson Marathon is the oldest in the state and is certainly in the highest echelon of any of the 47 I have run. The support and course were planned with the runners in mind. The views on the route were beautiful and the after race meal was great. It is mindboggling to me that so many smaller marathons can "get it right" and the some of the "big boys" with "big name sponsors" have major logistical problems on providing the bare essentials (water, PowerAde, signage). It is a tribute to the director and event that there was such a cross-section of runners from throughout the country attending. These hardcore folks know who will take care of them!

Thanks, AJM staff!

I found this marathon to be a very nice surprise. I knew it would be small, but it turned out to be only around 60 runners, I'd guess. One of the smallest I've participated in so far.

But definitely not disappointing! I enjoyed the quaintness and simplicity of it all, compared to the mega-events in the cities. The sweet country ladies at the check-in table, the coziness of the marathoners hanging out together in the gym of the local college as we waited for the thunderstorms to end (they did, just in time) and for the race to begin (right on time), the race director (who reminded me of my dad) telling our small group of runners the last minute instructions and then just shouting, "Go!" which signified the beginning of the race (kind of caught me off-guard!), the well-marked race course with its signs and arrows, the reliable water/Gatorade stations with their fresh-faced, cheery, youthful volunteers (every station well-stocked and well-manned, despite the threatening weather earlier that morning), port-a-potties along the route (despite the easy access to bushes out in the countryside!), the lovely green Tennessee countryside, the course with just enough gentle hills to give our legs an even workout, the finish line with American flags proudly lined up on either side, the hamburgers waiting for us in the gym, the excellent massages, the t-shirts and medals that were better than some bigger marathons have awarded, and the huge line-up of trophies that were handed out. All pretty amazing for a home-town marathon!

Also very surprising: The wide range of participants. We had everyone from one of the top ultramarathoners in the U.S. (Tom Possert) who was using this as a practice run for a much longer run in the near future, to a sweet young 16-year-old fellow running his first marathon. There were also several members of the 50 States & DC Club and also some Marathon Maniacs (your truly, for one). When running by one guy, I asked him if he ran many marathons. Reply: 63 last year! His added note: "Now that I'm divorced, I can do anything I want!" When I asked another fellow at the hamburger luncheon if he was the guy who had run 63 marathons last year, he said no, but he has run 100+ in all (I forget the number), did that count? Some pretty impressive resumes there at that little event!

For a nice, low-key run in the green Tennessee countryside, friendly, reliable support from the race director and his band of volunteers, in the company of a wide range of runners, count this race in.

Nice country and residential roads with just enough hills to make the course go by fast. No noise, little traffic. Aid every two miles. Start and finish at Union Univ. with showers, free massages and lunch. And late checkout at the host hotel. All the volunteers were helpful and nice. And a hotrod car show at the fairgrounds.

As a seasoned marathoner and race worker, I'm certainly sensitive and sympathetic to the challenges that all smaller marathons face. I'm also typically turned off by reviews where marathoners whine about the shortcomings of those who do the most to make our lifestyles practicable.

The 2006 race ended up with what must have been a larger-than-normal walk-up registration on the day of the race. To make a long story even longer, they ran out of everything from safety pins to water. Their closing of aid stations on an unseasonably warm day while runners, albeit slower ones, were still on the course, was later acknowledged and denied depending on who you talked to. Because of loose race management in the race's latter stages, the fact is, it took local EMS almost 30 minutes to respond to a heat exhaustion call. One can only conclude that there might have been a cruel one-time April Fool's joke perpetrated on this April 1st 2006 race.

I understand this race has had better days and is generally appreciated by the regional running community. It probably should consider raising its walk-up registration fee to discourage runners who are indifferent to the problems their spontaneity may inadvertantly set in motion. In the absence of this, slower runners should be prepared to be logistically self-sufficient and to be especially charitable and appreciative of the good intentions which will doubtlessly be evident.

The volunteers are kind and responsive. Their resources are, as one might reasonably expect, constrained, however. Particularly if you're a slower runner, keep your fingers crossed that faster last-minute entrants don't end up drinking your water in the race's latter stages. There will as always be many good folks running and working this race. I wish them the best of luck in the future.

A delightful, small marathon with a scenic, rural route that begins and end at Union University, which is .8 of a mile from the Jamison Motel (which has a low marathon rate and is the location of the package pick up). No expo or pasta dinner to bother with. An Olive Garden is a few blocks from the motel. There are large trophies for age-group winners, and a coin-like medal with Andrew Jacksons's head.

Nice rolling course, which is only partially out-and-back. Small race and often pleasant pastoral scenery. On-course volunteers, especially in the more rural portions, were friendly and supportive. No spectators to speak of due to the nature of the course and the size of the race. It could have been marked a little better near the end; I was afraid I'd missed a turn in the last mile or so. If you like small races and a mix of terrain, this is a good one. As I believe was mentioned before, this is probably not a good first marathon due to its small size, rural course and fair number of hills.