Dirty South Trail Races

DIRTY SOUTH TRAIL HALF MARATHON, TRAIL 10K, and KIDS TRAIL MILE

TIME & PLACE: Half Marathon and 10K start at 9:00 am. Kids Trail Mile race starts 8:30 am. Note, this kids mile is separate from the seven race series. Starts/finishes at Mead's Quarry, just south of Ijams Nature Center on Island Home Avenue, Knoxville TN 37920.

Sustainability: Help us make less of an impact on the environment! There are a couple ways you can help us make this a more environmentally sustainable event… Option 1? Carpool! Link up with your friends and carpool if possible (our participant lists are public, take a look and see who you know that’s coming!). Option 2? Meads Quarry has a stop on the Knoxville Area Transit Line 40! Check out their site, download their app, or utilize their bike and ride option!

COURSE DESCRIPTION: 13.1 mile course traverses the Forks of the River Wildlife Area, William Hastie Park, Marie Myers Park, Ross Marble Quarry, Ijams Nature Center, and other haunts of the beautiful Urban Wilderness of South Knoxville. A mix of rocky, technical single track and buffed out, flowing mountain bike trail. Course has a 4 hour time limit. 10k course will utilize some of the main nature center trails as well as those in Meads Quarry. Kids will run their own trail mile in the woods and are guaranteed to have a splendid time.

LOCATION: Mead's Quarry near Ijams Nature Center.

REGISTRATION FEES (NO REFUNDS AND NO BIB TRANSFERS): Registration fees above.  KTC member discount accepted.  Not a KTC member?  Sign up here.

T-SHIRTS: This year we'll print a special tech shirt (different from the series shirts) -- you're guaranteed to love it!

SPECIAL NOTE ABOUT SHIRTS:  Anyone registering after November 12 will receive a shirt only while supplies last. The shirt order will be placed on November 12, and when the inventory runs out in the Runsignup system, no more shirts will be available; there will be no re-orders. Shirts not picked up will be donated. Shirts will not be held or mailed to participants.  

TTT SERIES AWARDS: At the end of the 2025 trail race season, we will be awarding the top 3 in each division free race entries. We will announce the winners at the KTC Holiday Party in December.  To qualify for series awards, you'll need to be a member of KTC and you will need to have volunteered two times during the course of the trail race season.

RESULTS: Results will be available on the Knoxville Track Club website: www.ktc.org, and on Runsignup.com.

COURSE ETIQUETTE: We reserve the right to disqualify anyone who exhibits unsportsmanlike conduct or is abusive to volunteers. Due to insurance regulations, no headsets, earphones, bicycles, baby strollers, roller blades or pets on the course.

SAFETY: Aid and water stations will be provided, but in an effort to be greener, we urge all runners to carry their own water.  There will be only very small cups at aid stations. If you don't own a handheld, buy one.  We also strongly recommend that anyone sensitive to insect stings or bites carry their own medication. Finally, we urge that everyone do some pre-race training offroad, as there is no substitute for experience. We want you to have a good time.

SAFETY POLICY CLARIFICATION: Our primary goal is to keep everybody safe out there in the woods. We've had some interest by younger folks in running the longer races, and we're all over that idea, but we are also concerned about their safety. For the remainder of the season (and moving forward), if a runner is under 12 years old, he or she will need to be accompanied by an adult in order to run the adult race (i.e. not the kids mile).Also, and this is less of a safety concern and more of a concern for the welfare of our volunteers: We'll need to start enforcing the 18:00/mile minimum pace. This has been our policy all along but we've gotten a little lax and this keeps our volunteers in the woods far longer than they should have to be. Moving forward, each race will have a sweeper, and runners will need to be moving at greater than an 18:00/mile pace to stay in the race. Don't get caught by the sweep!

DON'T TAKE A BIB IF YOU'RE NOT RUNNING. This is safety-related - we want to make sure that everybody who starts the race stays safe. If you take a bib, we think you're running the race. Then when you don't show up at the finish, we have to try and track you down and make sure you're not lost in the woods or hurt. So please -- if you're not running the race, don't take a bib. Also, if you have to drop out of the race, please let one of the race officials know so you are accounted for.  Also, don't crunch or fold the bib, or tear off the bottom.  We need an unspoiled bib to record your time and finish place.

INFO FOR RUNNING OR VOLUNTEERING: Contact race director Tim Hill at [email protected] or call 865.548.4718 for more information. Volunteer info also available on Runsignup.com.  We value volunteerism highly. Runners can take their participation in the KTC TTT series to the next level by volunteering! Not only does the success of each trail race depend on our great community of volunteers, but volunteerism is required for placement in the esteemed Grand Prix Rankings. In order to qualify for a Grand Prix award, runners must also volunteer for a minimum of 3 events.  Each trail race has opportunities for both folks running in the event and those preferring to provide support during the race. Volunteer positions can be found and selected on the respective race page on Runsignup.com. No experience is necessary and one might argue that volunteering is more fun than running. Come out, support the community and secure your place in the Grand Prix hierarchy!

KTC SAFETY POLICY: KTC’s mission is to encourage lifelong physical well-being through running and walking. That is accomplished through a variety of events and programming.

The Knoxville Track Club puts the safety of its participants, spectators, staff and volunteers first. Dangerous weather conditions pose a unique challenge to an event of any size, distance or location.

Therefore, KTC has adopted the following Inclement Weather Policy:

Weather forecasts will be monitored prior to the event, with special attention placed on the possibility of heavy rain, thunder and lightning, high winds, extreme temperatures and humidity. If necessary, athletes will be made aware of these conditions on Knoxville Track Club’s website (www.ktc.org), as well as through other available means of communication such as e-mail, Twitter, Facebook and public address announcements.

The Executive Director and Race Director in consultation, when available, with law enforcement, fire/EMS, other medical officers and other officials, will monitor the weather and make a decision if any action will be taken to modify the race. Possible changes include: Altering the start time, altering the course, or in extreme situations cancellation of the event. Visible lightning occurring within 30 minutes of the scheduled start will cause the race to be postponed for a minimum of 30 minutes. Additional sightings will continue to delay the race in 30-minute increments up to a maximum of 3 delays.

Race personnel reserve the right to delay, cancel, or suspend the race or modify the course due to inclement weather. As stated on registration and race pages, there are no refunds or transfers. Participants must abandon the race if ordered to do so by the race personnel, medical staff, fire/paramedics or police personnel.