Expo, schedule and race morning

Packet pickup

• Thursday, Dec. 3, 2026: noon - 7 p.m.
• Friday, Dec. 4, 2026: noon - 8 p.m.

• Packet pickup is MANDATORY at the expo. The participant guide states plainly: 'All participants 18 and over must pick up their own packet at the Health & Fitness Expo. There is no race-day packet pick-up.' Miss both expo days and you do not run.
• No proxy pickup: you must collect your own packet. Nothing on the site offers a friend/spouse/teammate option, and nothing offers bib mailing.
• Bring TWO things or you get turned away: a government photo ID, and your Race Entry Confirmation Email containing your personalized QR code. The guide says that confirmation email is sent on Monday, Dec. 1 (the Monday of race week), so it will not be in your inbox until a couple of days before you travel.
• Site contradiction: the participant-guide text refers to 'your 2025 Race Entry Confirmation Email' while the same page carries 2026 expo dates (Dec. 3-4, 2026). Treat the year label as stale copy, not a different email.
• Only two pickup windows exist and BOTH start at noon. There is no morning pickup on either day, so a Thursday-morning flight buys you nothing and a Friday arrival after 8 p.m. is fatal.
• Corral changes are handled at the Solutions desk at the expo, not on race morning. You may move back in the corrals but not forward.
• 2-Race Challenge medals are picked up at the expo, not at the finish line.
• Third-party listing (10times) gives the expo as Dec. 5-7, 2026, which conflicts with the official Dec. 3-4 dates. Go with the official site.
• Expo venue at 255 N. Main St. is in the same downtown core as the start at B.B. King Blvd. and Beale St., roughly half a mile apart, so no separate trip is needed. (Distance is from general knowledge of downtown Memphis geography, not from a page fetched.)

August 2026

The published weekend schedule

Everything runs Thursday through Saturday, with the race on Saturday, Dec. 5, 2026 rather than a Sunday. That compresses the trip: the last chance to get a bib is Friday 8 p.m. and you race the next morning. The 5K/10K and the marathon/half use different start corners of B.B. King Blvd. (Madison vs. Beale), one hour apart, so anyone doing the 2-Race Challenge starts in two different places on the same morning. Gear check at Union Ave. and 4th St. opens 5:30 a.m. and closes 4:15 p.m. Course time limits: marathon 6.5 hours, half 4:20, 10K 2 hours, 5K 1.5 hours. The Friday Heroes Pasta Party overlaps the last 2.5 hours of the Friday expo window and needs a reservation.

Getting there

Plan on foot power and rideshare, not on buses. Nothing fetched here confirms that Memphis Area Transit Authority buses or the Main Street Trolley run early enough to deliver you to a corral before an 8 a.m. marathon start, and the race's own transportation guidance skips transit entirely in favor of two designated rideshare points and reserved parking. The one hard constraint is the 6 a.m. parking cutoff (6:15 a.m. per the Downtown Memphis page), which is early enough that a first-run trolley or bus is unlikely to help even if it exists. Getting back to your room after finishing is the easy half: the finish is in the same downtown core as the hotels, so a walk works, and if you drove into a yellow zone your car is not leaving until after 11:30 a.m. regardless.

• Be parked by 6 a.m. (or 6:15 a.m.). The race parking page says participants and spectators should be downtown and parked no later than 6 a.m. due to road closures. The Downtown Memphis event page states 6:15 a.m. for the same instruction. Both readings are recorded; work to 6 a.m.
• Parking zones decide your exit time. Green areas are accessible all day with timely exit options. Yellow areas require parking by 6 a.m. and permit exit only after 11:30 a.m. Red areas allow no vehicular traffic or parking. If you want to drive off soon after finishing, you need a green space.
• Reserve parking in advance. Advance purchase of downtown parking is encouraged via premiumparking.com. Downtown Memphis lists average parking around $10, and advises arriving early to secure a space.
• Two official rideshare points, open all day. 115 Riverside Dr. at the Tennessee Welcome Center, with access in and out through the I-40 ramp only; and S. Lauderdale St. between Beale St. and Union Ave. These are the sanctioned Uber and Lyft drop-offs and pickups, and the reliable way back to a room outside the closed core.
• Union Avenue closes first. Union Avenue from B.B. King Boulevard to Danny Thomas Boulevard closes to all traffic and parking on race morning, reported as taking effect shortly before 8 a.m. on the 2025 race day. Additional temporary closures roll out across the city through the day; the full street list lives only in a PDF that was not opened for this dossier.
• Gear check and race-morning facilities. Gear check is at Union Avenue and 4th Street, 5:30 a.m. to 4:15 p.m. Water stations and restrooms are available inside AutoZone Park and near the start line areas, which is what makes a short walk-in from a downtown hotel workable at 5:45 a.m.
• Watch live traffic on the drive in. Local coverage of the 2025 race advised downloading Waze for real-time detours and leaving 30 minutes early for anything downtown on race day. Reported start times that morning were 7:00 a.m. for the 5K and 8:00 a.m. for the 10K, half and full.
• Dinner the night before (general knowledge, not a fetched page). The Second Line in Midtown for a plate of pasta and shrimp, or Aldo's Pizza Pies on South Main if you want to stay downtown and walk. Flagging plainly: this recommendation comes from general knowledge, not from any page fetched for this dossier, so verify hours and location before you count on it.

Parking near the course endpoints

These are mapped garages near the course, not a promise of race-day access. Check closures and pre-booking rules with the organizer.

• FedEx Forum Parking Garage2 minute modeled walk to start
• Peabody Place Parking Garage2 minute modeled walk to start
• Mobility Center4 minute modeled walk to start
• One Commerce Square Garage5 minute modeled walk to start
• AutoZone Store Support Center Parking Garage6 minute modeled walk to start
• First Tennessee Bank Parking Garage6 minute modeled walk to start
• Parking Can Be Fun6 minute modeled walk to start
• First Place Parking7 minute modeled walk to start
• Metropolis7 minute modeled walk to start
• Brinkley Plaza Garage8 minute modeled walk to start

Published entry tiers

Checked 2026-08-27; fees and tiers can change.