Seven Bridges Marathon - Race Reviews

Lots of hills back half miles 13-19. Well organized very scenic. Had an awesome time!!

My whole family (husband, father, and mother) have done this race - either the 5K or the half marathon. It's an annual tradition for us! The course is unique because of all the bridge crossings and offers really beautiful views of the Tennessee River and downtown Chattanooga! It's also a great race for spectators with many good viewing places, whether it be Coolidge Park or the Walnut Street Bridge. Would definitely recommend adding it to your list of races to do!

The Seven Bridges Marathon has a wonderful atmosphere and lots of great things going for it. The course is awesome, the spectators are inspiring and the finish is absolutely spectacular!

You will love the run along the river and over the 7 Bridges that cross the Tennessee river and also get a great feel for the wonderful city of Chattanooga.. Good food awaits you at the finish, and great aid stations along the course. I come back every year for this one!

I have ran this race for the last 4 years and I have ran all the distances offered at this race. This is a very well organized and put together race. The course is beautiful with lots of aid stations. The finish line is awesome with a lot of crowd support and great finish line food. Great swag and that medal at the end is always amazing.

This was my first 1/2 ever. It was so well put on! Lots of aid stations, professional timing, and a beautiful course. I got to run it again this year while pushing our special needs daughter! I cannot begin to tell you how accomodating the race director was! I also can't say enough about the spectators! They were everywhere, and they were out there till the last person finished! I can't wait to run this again! Wether this is your 1st or your 100th marathon, Chattanooga is a beautiful city and definitely should be on everyones bucket list!

This was my first, and the Half for myself and son. Having worked aid stations at previous events , I am aware of the Distance issues, but know a few of the folks , and am convinced of their dedication and very hard work. For this event , the stations were well staffed and fully functioning , and post race food just fine, with lots of fruits available.

This course is a great starter if you are trying to do your first marathon. There are aide stations every mile, which is super helpful for first timers if you're lacking hydration. This course takes place mostly along the Tennessee Riverwalk, which is relatively flat. The bridge that crosses the dam is the hardest because of the climb. There is a fruit station that was new this year that helps reduce/stop cramps. The volunteer turnout is fantastic as they are everywhere throughout the course to help motivate you after the hills!

I ran the this race in 2019 for the first time. I ran the half marathon which shares the course with the full marathon. The course was a beautiful trek by the river and on the river walk in downtown Chattanooga. There is some time spent on the highways, but it's well marked and the race is ran early on a Sunday morning so there is very little traffic if any. It was well organized with packet pickup the day before, great parking the morining of the event, the distance was on the mark, and aid stations in all the right places. The post race food was awesome! I really loved the fruit station! The Chattanooga community really supports these races and there were plenty of spectators out to cheer on all runners! Great community and great race! I will be racing again in 2020!

I have run the 7 Bridges Marathon in 2018 and 2019. The race course through downtown and along the river walk is beautiful, but the trek around the highways, which is a little over 1/3rd the race is not enjoyable. The course is definitely hilly, but they are mostly gradual inclines that stretch out for a mile or two. The issues come down to the merging of the running traffic. It's neat that the 5K, Half and Marathon all meet up at mile 6-7 for the Marathon, but if you don't get there before the 5K goes, good luck sorting through the crowd. I heard many fellow marathoners saying this was a screw up, but I told them this is the normal unfortunately. It only lasts for about a mile, but it will slow you down (lost 20 seconds). The gels were supposed to be at 6,12,18,24, but they were kinda everywhere and some of the later stations like 24 didn't have any. Luckily I grabbed them while I could. The post-race food isn't great. Waffles and more fruit choices could've gone a long way. Honey buns and Spaghetti was all you had to choose from really. Maybe a banana. Lastly, don't rely on the mile markers from 13-20 or so. Once you join back up on the half marathon course, their mile markers were much more accurate. All in all a good experience, but there are better ones out there for the price.

I have done this marathon on three occasions. Each with its own issues. The 2017, however, is the topper. 1st incorrect distance. 2nd late start time. 3rd poor expo. 4th lack of info on website

I always thought that to certify a marathon course, someone rode a bike the entire course. Wrong. I don't know how it's done. But someone really got the Seven Bridges Marathon wrong this year and it ended up being 27+ miles. Jeez. How does that happen? Not only that, but apparently this has happened more than once at this marathon. Also, having the 1/2 and 5K in a marathon is just stupid. You see people whizzing by you and really leads to a lack of comradery with fellow runners. They should just make this a 1/2 marathon and/or 5K because the organizers of this race simply don't get what real runners are about.

I ran this marathon last year, and this year, 2017, was just awful. For starters, they simply recycle the website information without updating it. They use Facebook for some updates, but not everyone is on FB. Second, the race started late. Third, they said they would be offering Lemon-Lime Gatorade Endurance at aid stations, and instead it was all flavors of regular Gatorade. Fourth, the first port-a-potty was until the 8th aid station, though they advertise they will be at 'most.' Fifth, the marathon course was measured incorrectly; countless runner recorded 27+ miles on the GPS devices. Lastly, the post-race food consisted of cold waffles and sausages - that's it! I gave my waffle to our dog, it was so cold and bad. I don't know what happened from last year, but 2017 was the worst marathon I've run. I love Chattanooga, but I'm done with this race.

I had high hopes for this marathon in the pretty city of Chattanooga, but instead found it to be the most poorly marked course I've ever ran. We near the front made a wrong turn at 0.25 miles adding four blocks to the race and around mile 8? (poorly marked as noted) I felt I missed a turn but a cyclist assured me I was going the right way but I later found 5 miles were added but lost 2.Then I made another wrong turn adding 200 ft to my race. I ended up running an estimated 29.6 miles. The aid stations were fine and the finish was all downhill.Great medal, great race shirt given out.The food was okay waffles and cold coffee drinks welcomed. I won't run this one again.

PROS: " Majority of the 26.2 course is along the banks of the beautiful Tennessee River. " Water stations every mile " Enthusiastic volunteers " Weather/temps were perfect for running " HUGE, shiny race medal CONS: " Post-race food tent was nearly impossible to locate. Overall, The Seven Bridges was a well-organized, enjoyable marathon. With less than 500 participants, there is always plenty of room to run a PR and have a good time on this mostly-flat course. Chattanooga is beautiful in the fall, with an abundance of fun activities for the entire family.

I ran the half marathon this year, as my last race before the Chickamauga Battlefield Marathon next month. I won't be running another 4/7 Bridges race. Not only was the half marathon course WAY short (12.37 miles by my Garmin - confirmed well short by at least 10 other people, to make sure it wasn't just me), but the tent right by the finish area with all the food and goodies was for sponsors, not runners. I feel that I wasted my money. Recommend the Chattanooga Marathon in March or the Battlefield Marathon in November if you want to do a full or half in the southeast TN or north GA area.

This was my first marathon, and yes,I am a slow runner. But I have done plenty of half marathons. I wouldn't run the Chattanooga marathon again. The mile markers were in the wrong spots, aid stations were empty. In the park, we had to ask walkers in the park which way the race course went, there were no markers in a lot of spots. We had to take a guess if we were running in the right direction or not. And the park along the river was the worst. The race course was open to bicyclists!!! I wish I had a video camera to record all the bicyclists that made us get out of THEIR WAY!!! It was really dangerous. I can't believe this is a Boston Qualifier race. At the end of the race course we again had to ask people where the finish line was at because we couldn't find it. I have run races in much smaller towns than Chattanooga that were not near this bad.

This was a nice small safe race that I unexpectedly finished with a PR. It was not hilly as it could have been. The start was kind of early and dark. The temperature was cool and the trees were just starting to change color. The course was interesting and unique because it was always on the road; they used multipurpose paths. The race was organized well with plenty of friendly volunteers. There were not a lot of spectators along 90 percent of the course. The Tennessee River view was simply fantastic. This is a must do marathon especially for the 50 States Club.

I enjoyed this race, ran a PR time in perfect weather and had a great family weekend in Chattanooga. Course was a mixed bag. Semi-challenging course you can run a good time on. First 8 miles through downtown scenic and fun. The run on the highways was a grind. The last 8 miles along the river was nice but lonely which I expected. Shirts, poster and finisher medals are nice. Decent age group awards. I gave 4 stars for fans because what ones where out where very encouraging. Packet pickup was disorganized and confusing. Some early aid stations weren't ready. Mile 10 station didn't have the water ready. I had just taken a gel and would have liked a little water to wash it down. Mile markers were messed up on the riverwalk and direction was lacking at times. I shouldn't have to guess or think where to run, especially late in the race. Post race food was OK for a 5K, not a marathon. All I could find was water. Saw race photos tonight, not very good. Pretty much only finish line. With lots of nice scenery, some pics would have been great. Overall, I liked the race but many things could be done better.

I loved the scenic views and fast pace of this course! I would definitely run this marathon again and recommend it to others. The only improvement I would suggest is to have more clearly marked signs for packet pick-up and the start of the race. I only found my way by following the music :) I found that food, water, and Powerade were more than ample. WELL DONE CHATTANOOGA, see you again next year!

I ran this race and was overall very pleased. Beautiful city and the course was scenic for the most part. The start and finish being relatively closeby were great too. My only complaints are that the course wasn't marked very clearly in a few spots. I found myself at the very end screaming, 'which way do I go?!?!' I would liked to have had more powerade stations toward the end of the race too. Other than that, I'm glad I did this race.

This is a good race, the course is awesome. I think this is one of my favorite. I would prefer Gatorade at the water stops, because the water hurts my stomach and it is disappointing when there is no Gatorade.

I would easily recommend this Marathon to anyone looking for a PR (I hit mine with a 3:49) or runners who love a good scenic run.The Tennessee board walk goes on for 6-7 miles. technical shirt and medal are very nice . I will be back for another PR !

Agree with comments above about running along interstate; running interstate bridge was probably about as healthful as smoking a pack of cigarettes. Worse was the fact that less than half of the aid stations had powerade at all when I came through. I finished in 4:43 which is probably about mid pack, so this seems inexcusable. The gels don't agree with me and I had a severe Problem with post race nausea, probably due to low Na

We were going to spend a week vacationing in Nashville so I decided to run the 7 Bridges marathon as long as we were that close. Good experience, beautiful city, nice trail/park system and packet pick up, start and finish all in in one area, that really make it nice for out of towners. The weather was great. Volunteers did an awesome job! No complaints. Keep up the good work!

The weather was absolutely perfect for the race. I'm not a big crowd person so it didn't matter to me that there weren't a lot of people out. However, there was way too much running on the side of busy roads. I don't understand the comments about a beautiful course - this reminds me somewhat of the Cleveland Marathon - a lot of industrial areas (gotta love the styrene fumes coming off the BASF plant!!). It is flat and fast, other than the bridges which aren't a big deal. The worst part for me was how much concrete there was - very little blacktop. My ankles are still a little crunchy. It's a perfectly innocuous marathon (decent organization, etc) but really shouldn't be rated this high. Columbus or Akron would be much better options at this time of year.

This was my first marathon and I was really impressed with beauty of the course and the professional organization of the event. The pacers were right on pace and were a great help with experienced advice. The start was a little disorganized but really was a non issue. I would highly recommed this run and I can't wait to return next year!

I had a great time at this marathon and could easily recommend it to any one looking for a small town experience and/or family vacation. Briefly, in no particular order: 1. Easy to get to start line. 2. Small expo. Local running store was there but the GREAT deals were at the store, just a few blocks away. 3. Great aid stations although some were short on Powerade. The Almond Joy fun size were a TRUE treat! 4. Nice technical shirt and medal. Note, I usually get a women's medium shirt, but the small was a better fit.

This was my first, and the organizers did a great job at marking the course and ensuring a well laid out course. The race started a bit later, as I think the timer set-up was delayed; and while one station had some goldfish and M&M's, it'd have been nice if there were more of those. Spectators were awesome, as were those as the aid-stations. Scenery was pretty fantastic, til we ran about 4 1/2 miles along Amnicola Hwy, but I suppose we can't all run along paradise. I'd recommend this race to others.

This race was lots of fun. The scenery was the prettiest of any race course I've seen. The volunteers were very helpful and friendly. Water stations were well stocked with plenty of drinks and snacks. I especially appreciated the fruit toward the end of the marathon course. My only suggestion is including a sign that points half marathoners and marathoners in the right directions at the split-off point. I didn't hear the volunteer telling marathoners to go straight and instead I followed the half marathoners and got off the course for a while before I realized what had happened. This was partially my fault for listening to my music instead of paying attention, however, I know lots of participants listen to music while running and I think a big sign with arrows pointing people in the right directions would have been helpful. Other than that, it was a great race and I'd recommend it to anyone. Other runners were also friendly and spectators were supportive. Chattanooga is an awesome city!

If you want to run a fun beautiful Marathon..this is the race..not alot of people to cheer you on..but very scenic..the 2nd half is the best..hills were not bad.

The course was beautiful along the river and over the bridges in Chattanooga. The spectators along the way were great and very inspirational. There were plenty of water, gel, poweraid stations along the course. There were parts of the course along the river-walk that were not marked at all. The organizers could have prevented this by adding small signs with arrows or solicited more volunteers for the event. These were complaints from the previous year that were not addressed or ignored. There are also steps on two parts of the course. When asked by one of the members of the race organization team how they could make the race better I told him they should find a way to eliminate the steps. His only reply was 'Move to Florida'. It was disappointing to be asked for feedback and get this type of response. It would also have been nice if they would look to provide some sort of sports drink at the end of the race. All in all I would run the race again. With a few years of growth and if the organizers listen to the runners this race will be great.

The course is really amazing! The iron bridges, the meandering river, the morning mist hanging over the valley, the scenic RiverWalk, the picturesque town. I attempted to follow a pacer, but developed stomach cramps around mile 18 and had to run/walk it in. But through mile 17, my pacer was spot on with each mile - a living metronome! The medal and the t-shirt are artfully designed. The volunteers were cheery, helpful, and seemingly well-prepared (especially the group around mile 23 - they screamed for me like I was winning! Thanks!) The course was well-marked and safe. There weren't many spectators, but it didn't matter - the scenary was enough to keep me going. The expo, packet pick-up, and the finish line were well-organized; the volunteers were able to answer questions and offer advice. The ONLY small piece of constructive feedback I have for this race was the website/app were not very helpful. I don't think it was updated more than once in the months leading up to the race. I kept checking to see if it was sold-out and to see if there was info about road-closures or a more detailed maps (that might show actual water stops or porta-potty locations). About a week before the race, they did post some info about the pacers, but not much useful that I could really plan with. But please understand that this feedback is totally over-shadowed by the amazing race itself. Chattanooga and the 7 Bridges marathon rock!!!

This was a first year race, and it went very well. The start was a little confusing to most I think, it was dark and no one knew what was going on, but the finish was awesome!!!! It had a small town feel, and the volunteers were great!! The aluminum water bottle at the finish line was great, and the communication months prior was great, the directors actually answered the facebook posts immediately and returned e-mails!!! That never happens! The expo was really small, so for first timers they didn't get to experience the expo-hype and pre-race excitement of a big city marathon. The city was great to run through and the course was scenic and not boring at all! Am planning on running it again this year for their 2nd annual marathon! Drinks along the course were plentiful, t-shirts nice, and the only thing would be to have the date on the medal. Overall, can't wait for it again! Hopefully the weather will be exactly what it was last year, PERFECT!

My wife had mentioned Chattanooga as a potential vacation spot and I was looking to make up for a poor performance in my last marathon, so finding this first time event was ideal. We had a great time with both the race and the tourist attractions. Some people would want the expo to be bigger, but I don't care too much about them one way or the other. The technical shirt is great (mine seems true to size) and I really like the aluminum water bottle too. The medal may the nicest I've ever gotten at a race. On course support was very good - offerings went well beyond the standard water/sports drink/gel packet. Some of the volunteers could have used a little more training in how to manage and deliver cups, but that was a very small issue. Their attitude more than made up for their inexperience. There weren't a lot of spectators along the way, but the ones that we passed were very enthusiastic. There was plenty of parking race morning and plenty of food and drink at the finish. The course itself was very nice and mostly flat. Rises to the bridges were pretty much all of the hills. As others have mentioned the section to get in the dam was a bit boring, but the rest of the course - especially the bridges - had beautiful views of the river and surrounding mountains which were starting to show their fall colors. The later portion through the park gave me a bit of a mental break, which was nice. I ran with a pace group most of the way, which kept me within 30 seconds of my target the whole time. Kudos to the runners willing to go to the effort to help those of us still trying to master the marathon. There were only two things that I can think of right off that need to be addressed - the start and finish line management. Actually, I'm not sure there was a start line, as I didn't see one marked. Others standing around didn't seem certain where it was or how we were supposed to line up. When they started announcements, it was difficult to hear what was being said. Hopefully next year they'll add a well marked start, with chip timing mats and a better speaker system. The first issue with the finish is that there didn't seem to be a timing clock. That was a first for me, as every race I've done - big or small - has had one. The second issue was the failure of the timing system, evidently due to a loss of power. This prevented results from being posted when they were supposed to have been. It took quite a while for them to get things straightened out, but thankfully they did. A battery backup on the system should be a must for next year. All in all, the 7 Bridges Marathon was a great event and I look forward to running it again in the future.

I don't want this to come off as this race has no potential or I wouldn't run it again, but you definitely felt the inaugural status. It was not one of the better races I ran but I would run it again, in a heartbeat...so far, the race directors seem receptive to constructive criticism and I expect they will use it. I was running this race easily and not racing it so I know my personal experience is not coloring my views. I ran this race because of Chattanooga. Chattanooga is an awesome city and it did not disappoint - I ran over from the hotel, but saw tons of parking on the way and no back up of traffic. That's nice for anyone who has ever been stressed driving in! You could pick up race morning or two days before, which gives you plenty of chance to see the city, or double up with a nearby ultra the day before for you Maniacs out there! The medal clearly had a lot of thought put into it, with a custom ribbon. (Designed ribbons are always a nice touch.) The shirt was nice, and contrary to a previous reviewer I found it true to size, if not a little large. Start - Where was it? They need a start banner.Most people were confused as to where it was,if there was a mat for the chip, etc. The pacers I saw were not very consistent on the proper pace. I would be careful viewing my watch if I was following one as I've seen better elsewhere. Marathon pace to too fast isn't that big of a difference. My half and marathon race paces are only 20 sec/mi difference. Pacers shouldn't really finish faster than a minute faster over the whole race, and that's pressing it, in my view. When racing, I'd personally rather no pacers than ineffective pacers, though others might feel differently. They did have pacers there and, having only seen a few during my race, the others might have been better, and I know pacers are volunteers doing it out of the goodness of their own heart. I still watch that in races that offer them. The course - was very cool to go over the bridges. The highway was quite boring and ugly. Not sure if there is a way to avoid it while hitting the bridges, and it was amazingly flat for the area. I ran the previous day and saw just how many hills we could have hit. The last 7 miles through the park was wonderful. They absolutely need more portopotties on the course, for until we enter the park (plenty of real restrooms after that point, and so close to the finish anyhow.) A couple stairs early on caught me by surprise. Not many, but still a shock while running! Made me laugh. The expo was small. I don't really care about that at a race. Most they could really add would be a running store booth with assorted types of gels/blocks to sell, but am not really concerned with that myself. At least it was superfast to get in and out with your number! They do need to specify on the site that 'Outdoor Chattanooga' is a store. My GPS took me to a large park, and I walked around expecting tents! Almost no spectators. It's a small race though, and first year. They could try to attract some of Chattanooga behind the race, but it was so small and you can't expect constant cheering in such a small race. Perhaps some signs put up in future years to compensate? Still, perfectly average for the size race. I hope they fix some stuff in the future, but I would still run it again. It would not be my choice if I were very limited as to races I can run, there's even ones this time of year closeby.HOWEVER, that might change in the future, some of the seeds are there.

I was very excited when I heard Chattanooga was having a marathon. The race overall was a success. There were some obvious things that will have to change for next year. First one would be the communication at the beginning. No one knew where the start line was. Very lonely after the half split off. But, a hometown marathon.