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The complete, course-first guide
Rock 'n' Roll Nashville
Saturday, April 24, 2027 · 7:20 AM
8th Ave & Broadway, downtown Nashville (the 2026 race-week page instead listed a start at S Market St at Viola Ave; both readings are on the race's own site)
The race in 60 seconds
The route forms an open loop, finishing in the same part of the city without returning to the exact start point. The modeled line carries about 1372 feet of total climb and ranges from roughly 402 to 629 feet above sea level. Look for Bridgestone Arena, Ryman Auditorium, AT&T Building (333 Commerce, 'Batman Building'), JW Marriott Nashville in the flyover, with recognizable forms modeled from architectural records.
Fly the course
The whole course, built from the best available published route trace and an extruded model of Nashville. Scrub it, change the camera, or let it play. Nothing here is a video: it is drawing the city live.
Route statusCurrent community course trace cross-checked against the published route. 'RNR Nashville-Marathon 2026', public, 26.73 mi, created 2026-04-23 (two days before the 2026-04-25 race). JSON verified: 1361 track points, starts 36.15893,-86.78207 (8th & Broadway), ends 36.16524,-86.77269 (Nissan Stadium), bbox reaches MetroCenter (36.193 N) and Shelby Park (-86.7264 E) — the marathon-only sections.
The route line uses the best published course trace available. Public-domain USGS and USDA aerial photography plus USGS 3DEP elevation are baked into RunRace USA, so the flyover makes no paid map API or third-party runtime requests. Buildings, roads, parks and water use OpenStreetMap, ODbL. This is photographic terrain with modeled architecture, not photogrammetry. Bridge approaches, elevations and facade details are approximations; the organizer's published route remains the reference.
The elevation profile
This Marathon profile covers 26.2 miles, ranges from roughly 402 to 629 feet, and contains about 1372 feet of modeled climb.
- , mile 0.54 to 1.63: 120 feet up, 2.0% average.
- , mile 1.98 to 3.43: 111 feet up, 1.4% average.
- , mile 15.68 to 17.6: 101 feet up, 1.0% average.
- , mile 5.33 to 6.62: 94 feet up, 1.4% average.
- , mile 21.04 to 21.74: 86 feet up, 2.3% average.
- , mile 22.82 to 23.35: 84 feet up, 2.9% average.
- , mile 14.58 to 15.44: 78 feet up, 1.7% average.
- , mile 10.29 to 11.55: 78 feet up, 1.2% average.
The route at a glance
Gold is the selected modeled course; route provenance is stated beside the flyover.
Race-week weather, measured
At the start line, April 20-28 averaged a low of 51°F and a high of 71°F across 2016-2025. The same window reached 86°F at its warmest and 34°F at its coldest. Measurable rain appeared on about 40% of sampled days. Treat the range, not just the average, as the packing list.
Pace it by effort
The profile and grade strip come from the same route currently loaded in the flyover. Use even pace as a baseline, then protect effort on the highlighted climbs and exposed sections.
| Finish | Even pace | Halfway |
|---|---|---|
| 3:00 | 6:52 /mi | 1:30 |
| 3:30 | 8:01 /mi | 1:45 |
| 4:00 | 9:09 /mi | 2:00 |
| 4:30 | 10:18 /mi | 2:15 |
| 5:00 | 11:27 /mi | 2:30 |
| Published course limit, 6:00 | 13:44 /mi | 3:00 |
Build your race weekend
The course
Live 3D flyover, synchronized elevation, route map, mile-by-mile shape and local landmarks.
Where to stay
69 mapped places to stay, compared by the endpoint that matters.
Expo and logistics
Packet pickup, the published weekend schedule, transit, parking and current entry tiers.
Spectators
Route-aware viewing anchors and a plan that respects the actual course geography.
The weekend
A city guide built around the places modeled beside the course.
Official race site
The organizer's current dates, entry details and late course notices.
Common questions
What time does the marathon actually start, and where?
The published 2027 schedule puts the marathon and half marathon off together at 7:20 AM on Saturday, April 24 at 8th Avenue and Broadway, with the 10K and 5K going earlier at 6:30 AM from 8th and Demonbreun. Be aware that the race's own 2026 race-week page listed a different start line, S Market Street at Viola Avenue, so confirm the corner on the final race-week email rather than trusting last year's map.
Is this a Sunday race like most marathons?
No, and it catches people out. The marathon and half are run on Saturday, April 24, 2027, and Sunday is reserved for the 1 Mile, KiDS ROCK and the Doggie Dash. If you are booking a hotel or a flight home, you are flying out Sunday after a Saturday race, not the other way round.
What does entry cost, and do prices go up?
As of late August 2026 the 2027 marathon is $124 all-in, discounted from $138, with the half at $110, the 10K at $103, the 5K at $75 and the 1 Mile at $32. Those figures already include the processing fee, which runs from about $5.56 to $24.62 depending on distance. The registration page states only that spots at each price are limited and that prices may increase at any time, so there is no published calendar of increases to plan around.
If I get injured, can I defer to next year or sell my bib?
No. The event states plainly that all registrations are non-refundable and non-transferable with no exceptions, and none of the FAQ pages describe a deferral option at all. Giving or selling your number to someone else can get you banned from future Rock 'n' Roll events, so an injury in March means you eat the entry fee.
How are corrals assigned, and can I change mine?
Your corral comes from the estimated finish time you typed in at registration, which is why an optimistic guess in September becomes a problem in April. To move to a faster corral you pick up your bib at the Health and Fitness Expo and then visit the Corral Change table. Moving back to a slower corral needs no paperwork at all; you simply line up in the slower corral on race morning.
What is the time limit, and is it strictly enforced?
The race-week page for 2026 gave a 6-hour marathon limit, along with 4 hours for the half, 2 hours for the 10K and 1 hour for the 5K, though a 7-hour figure circulates elsewhere for this race, so treat 6 hours as the number to train against. Enforcement is real: the 2026 course had four mandatory cut-off points, at mile 10.7 by 10:15 AM, mile 15.7 by 11:25 AM, mile 18.5 by 12:00 PM and mile 20.8 by 12:30 PM.
What happens if I miss a cut-off?
You are not simply allowed to keep going at your own pace. Runners who do not reach a cut-off location by its posted time are diverted off the remaining course, and the race states that this produces a DNF in the final results. That means a slow first half is not something you can make up later; the mile 10.7 gate arrives before you have any sense of how the day is going.
Can I have a friend grab my packet if I land late Friday?
No. The event requires you to pick up your own race packet and number at the expo, and you must show photo ID to receive the number and timing chip. Proxy pickup is not offered, so build your travel around the expo hours: noon to 7 PM Thursday and 10 AM to 7 PM Friday at Music City Center, Halls C and D.
Is there race-morning packet pickup?
Nothing on the event pages describes one, and the expo hours end at 7 PM Friday. Plan on being in Nashville by Friday evening at the latest. A missed expo is a missed race.
How does gear check work?
Everyone gets a durable gear bag at packet pickup, and the bags are lined up alphabetically by truck near the start. In 2026 gear check opened at 5:30 AM and closed at 7:20 AM for marathon and half runners, and closed an hour earlier, at 6:20 AM, for 5K and 10K runners. The event warns explicitly not to put valuables, cash or jewelry in the bag and takes no responsibility for lost items, and you must collect your bag before the Finish Line Festival shuts down.
What is banned from the course?
No bikes, rollerblades, skateboards, strollers or baby joggers, no dogs, and no coaches or unregistered pacers running alongside you. If you were planning to push a stroller in the 5K or bring the dog, the Sunday Doggie Dash is the only place for that.
How old do I have to be for each distance?
The marathon requires you to be 18, the half marathon 12, the 10K 10 and the 5K 8. Anyone under 18 needs an adult to complete the registration because of the liability waiver, so a teenager cannot sign up for the half on their own.
What is the weather like in late April, and what does it do to my goal time?
Nashville in April averages a high near 72F and a low near 49F, with a mean around 61F, and race-time temperature and humidity typically sit above the ideal range for marathon performance. Combine that with 1,088 feet of climbing on rolling terrain and the honest read is that this is not a PR course; runners consistently describe it as hard and hilly.
Where is the hard part of the course?
The first three and a half miles are the ambush. Measurements off the course file show 120 feet of climbing between mile 0.54 and mile 1.63, then another 111 feet from mile 1.98 to mile 3.43, so the race climbs hard while you are still fresh and inclined to chase the crowd. The other significant rise comes late, 101 feet between mile 15.68 and mile 17.6, right where a fast early half starts collecting its debt.
How do I find my bib number before I travel?
A race-week email titled "Your Bib Number is Inside" goes out to all registrants, and numbers can also be looked up on the event's tracking site. Knowing your number in advance speeds up the expo line, but it does not substitute for showing photo ID in person.
Register for the 2027 Rock 'n' Roll Nashville →on the official race site
Course geometry provenance is stated beside the player; elevation profiles always use the same route loaded there. City geometry is OpenStreetMap, ODbL. Aerial imagery is from USGS and USDA; other images carry their own source credits. Weather figures use Open-Meteo reanalysis for April 20-28 across 2016-2025 at the start line. Schedule, prices and expo hours were checked in 2026-08-26 and are the fields most likely to move: confirm them on www.runrocknroll.com/events/nashville before you book anything. Spot an error? Tell us and we'll fix it fast.