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St. Jude Memphis Marathon Weekend

Start 08:008:00 AM Memphis

The St. Jude Memphis Marathon Weekend is a course of 42.2 km (26.2 miles) with 109.1 m (358 ft) of climbing. Its lowest point is 68 m (223 ft) and its highest 91 m (299 ft) above sea level. Next race: Saturday 5 December 2026, starting at 8:00 AM.

Beale Street
Beale Street. Photograph by Rhododendrites, CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons . Course line © OpenStreetMap contributors

At a glance

Race day
The 2026 race
Start
08:008:00 AM
Distance
42.2 km26.2 mi
Marathon
Total climb
109.1 m358 ft
Highest point 23 m75 ft above lowest
Time limit
6 h 30 min

The course

Pick a place, or drag along the profile

The organiser's marathon starts in the Beale Street district and finishes downhill on Union Avenue beside the finish festival in AutoZone Park, with Riverside Drive, Tom Lee Park, the St. Jude campus and a loop through Overton Park between.

StartFinish

© OpenStreetMap contributors

  3. Photo: H Alpaugh, Public domain
  4. Photo: Thomas R Machnitzki (thomas@machnitzki.com), CC BY 3.0
  5. Photo: Lindsey Turner, CC BY 2.0

km 8.4mile 5.2

Tom Lee Park

The course runs Riverside Drive and Tom Lee Park, with a view of the Mississippi riverfront.

Height drawn many times taller than life · GEDTM30

Course elevation profile, 8× vertical exaggeration Elevation along the course from km 0 to km 42. The trace runs between 68 and 91 metres, a range of 23 metres, drawn at 8 times vertical exaggeration so the shape is legible. Smoothed over 1 km before this profile was derived. An unsmoothed urban surface carries the buildings and would assert a climb that is not there. The dashed stretches are bridge decks: North Parkway, km 17.6 to 17.6; North Parkway, km 38.6 to 38.7; North Danny Thomas Boulevard, km 40.3 to 40.4; North Danny Thomas Boulevard, km 40.6 to 40.7. A bare-earth model reads the ground or the water beneath a bridge, not the deck the runner is on, so those runs are interpolated between the ground either side rather than measured, and they under-report the real climb across a span.
0 10 20 30 40 km
0 10 20 26.2 mi

Dashed: bridge

Your 5 gels, at the orange marksFor a 4:00 finish, one every 40 minutes

  1. km 7mile 4.4
  2. km 14.1mile 8.7
  3. km 21.1mile 13.1
  4. km 28.1mile 17.5
  5. km 35.2mile 21.8

Get them on AmazonAmazon partner link

  • Beale Street to a downhill finish on UnionBeale Street start, riverfront, St. Jude campus, Overton Park, Union Avenue finish.
  • Between 68 and 91 m the whole way67.6 to 91.1 m; 109 m of climbing; high point near km 32.
  • Through the St. Jude campus, then a loop of Overton ParkSt. Jude campus near km 15.5, Overton Park near km 31.
Course notes 4 short reads on the course
Whole courseGeometryBeale Street to a downhill finish on UnionBeale Street start, riverfront, St. Jude campus, Overton Park, Union Avenue finish.

The organiser’s course page puts the start in “the iconic and lively Beale Street district”, at B.B. King Boulevard and Beale Street, and the finish “with a downhill on Union Ave. adjacent to the finish festival in AutoZone Park”.

Between them the page lists “Riverside Drive and the stunning Tom Lee Park” with a view of the Mississippi riverfront and the Hernando de Soto bridge, “the run through the St. Jude campus”, then historic neighborhoods, block parties and “one-loop through Overton Park”.

Sourced

km 0 to 43.2GradientBetween 68 and 91 m the whole way67.6 to 91.1 m; 109 m of climbing; high point near km 32.

The marathon starts at about 76 m and finishes at about 75 m, so the course ends where it began. The low point is near km 13 at 67.6 m and the high point near km 32 at 91.1 m, a spread of 23.5 m. Over the whole course the climbing adds up to 109 m.

Measured

km 15 to 32LandmarkThrough the St. Jude campus, then a loop of Overton ParkSt. Jude campus near km 15.5, Overton Park near km 31.

The organiser describes the run through the St. Jude campus as where “inspiration comes”, with mission moments along the way, and the marathon alone continues to a loop through Overton Park. Along the course the campus lies at about km 15.5 and Overton Park at about km 31.4.

The half marathon takes the same route to the campus and then turns for an out and back on North Parkway before the return to the finish.

Measured

Whole courseConditionsAn 8 a.m. start and a 6.5-hour limit8 a.m. start on 5 December 2026, 6.5-hour limit.

The schedule gives the marathon and half marathon start as 8 a.m. at B.B. King Boulevard and Beale Street, and the finish line and AutoZone Park hospitality close at 4 p.m. The organiser lists the average race-day high as 53°F and the low as 36°F.

The marathon requires runners to be 16 or older. The organiser’s page lists the next race weekend as Saturday 4 December 2027.

Sourced

Race weekend

Thursday 3 December Expo

  1. 12:0012:00 PM–19:007:00 PM

    Health & Fitness Expo Renasant Convention Center. Race packets are picked up at the expo.

Friday 4 December Expo

  1. 12:0012:00 PM–20:008:00 PM

    Health & Fitness Expo Renasant Convention Center

  2. 17:005:00 PM–19:307:30 PM

    St. Jude Heroes Pasta Party Renasant Convention Center. Reservations required.

Saturday 5 December Race day

  1. 05:305:30 AM–16:004:00 PM

    Gear check Union Ave. and 4th St.

  2. 07:557:55 AM

    Marathon and half marathon wheelchair start B.B. King Blvd. and Beale St.

  3. 08:008:00 AM

    Marathon start B.B. King Blvd. and Beale St.. The half marathon starts at the same time.

  4. 16:004:00 PM

    Finish line and hospitality close Finish line and AutoZone Park

  5. Time not published

    Course time limit Course time limit 6.5 hours for the marathon. 6:30 limit: 9:14/km for 42.195 km6:30 limit: 14:52/mi for 26.2 mi

Times as published by the organiser, in Memphis time, checked . Confirm on their site before you travel.

Add to calendar .ics file, times in Memphis time

Entry

Entry through the organiser

Entry details on the organiser’s site →

The organiser, a third party. We take no entries and have no part in the race.

Race fuel

Energy gel
An energy gel sachet
Illustration · drag to turn

5 gels for Memphis, plus 1 spare

Finish

One every 40 minutes, the orange marks on the profile. Memphis stays within 23 m75 ft of height, so they go by the clock:

  1. km 7mile 4.4
  2. km 14.1mile 8.7
  3. km 21.1mile 13.1
  4. km 28.1mile 17.5
  5. km 35.2mile 21.8

Our pick: SiS BETA Fuel gel, box of 6, strawberry and lime. 40 g of carbohydrate a gel, about twice a usual gel, from two kinds of sugar your body takes up side by side.

Easy to forget on race morning: pack them with your bib the night before.

Order by 14 November to test them on two long runs first.

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We earn a small fee if you buy through these links. The price is the same.

In Canada the button opens GU Energy Gel, Salted Caramel, 24-pack, the best seller there.

Outside the Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, Austria and Switzerland, the UK and Ireland, Spain and Portugal, Italy, the rest of the EU and Canada the button opens GU Energy Gel, Chocolate Outrage, 24-pack on Amazon.com, the best seller there.

Anti-chafe
A small balm stick
Illustration · drag to turn

Compeed anti-blister stick, 8 ml

An invisible layer before the start keeps seams, straps and shoes from rubbing skin raw.

Put it on before you leave for the start: heels and toes, inner thighs, under a bra or heart-rate strap.

Try it on a long run first, like everything you use on race day.

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We earn a small fee if you buy through these links. The price is the same.

Number belt
A race number belt
Illustration · drag to turn

Compressport Race Belt

Holds your bib without safety pins through your top, with loops for up to 8 gels.

Clip the bib on the night before, so it goes on with your shorts in the morning.

Keep the number on the front, where officials and photographers can see it.

Get it on Amazon

We earn a small fee if you buy through these links. The price is the same.

Electrolytes
A tube of electrolyte tablets
Illustration · drag to turn

SiS Hydro electrolyte tablets, tube of 20

One tablet in a bottle puts back some of the salt you sweat out.

One tablet in 500 ml of water in the hour before the start.

Only if you have used them in training: nothing new on race day.

Get it on Amazon

We earn a small fee if you buy through these links. The price is the same.

Blister plasters
A pack of blister plasters
Illustration · drag to turn

Compeed blister plasters, medium, 6

One in a pocket cushions a blister if one starts.

Put it on clean, dry skin and leave it until it comes off by itself.

Give a couple to whoever comes to cheer, so they are there at the km you need them.

Get it on Amazon

We earn a small fee if you buy through these links. The price is the same.

Questions about the St. Jude Memphis Marathon Weekend

Is the St. Jude Memphis Marathon Weekend course flat?
Not entirely. It has 109.1 m (358 ft) of climbing over 42.2 km (26.2 miles). The highest point is 23 m (75 ft) above the lowest.
When is the St. Jude Memphis Marathon Weekend 2026?
Saturday 5 December 2026. The start is at 8:00 AM.
What is the time limit at the St. Jude Memphis Marathon Weekend?
Runners have 6 h 30 min to finish.
Where does the St. Jude Memphis Marathon Weekend start?
Start: B.B. King Blvd. and Beale St.
Runner talk Questions, tips and race reports from other runners about the course and the city.

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