Photos: 2023 Nashville St. Jude Rock ‘N’ Roll Running Series

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2023 St. Jude Rock ‘n’ Roll Running Series Nashville. Photo: Courtesy of Ryan Bethke

As the Rock ‘n’ Roll Running Series celebrates 25 years, approximately 24,000 registered runners took part in the 2023 St. Jude Rock ‘n’ Roll Running Series Nashville, providing participants a running tour of Music City. The Sports Credential spoke with St. Jude Rock ‘N’ Roll Running Series Nashville Race Director Erika Larsen ahead of the event. To read, click here.

Saturday (April 22)’s St. Jude Rock ‘n’ Roll Running Series Nashville Marathon also saw elite runners take to the course. It was Garang Madut from Dayton, Ohio with a time of 2:27:06 and Sarah Higgins from Greenwood, Indiana winning in a time of 2:43:54 coming home victorious in the men’s and women’s races, respectively.

Garang Madut. Photo: Courtesy of Jason Davis

“I knew the course from the map, but I wasn’t super sure about it. I knew it was going to fun because of all the bands. I am a big country music fan and just moved to Indiana from California and Nashville is really close to Indiana, so I had been looking forward to coming here. I had to try to keep my pace because the bands made me speed up and I was like, ‘Whoa, chill out Sarah’,” says Higgins. “I was hoping to get top three. I was just going to run my race and see what happens. The course was definitely flatter than I expected it to be because I heard Nashville was hilly. There were still inclines and stuff, but nothing like a crazy hill that you had to work really hard to climb. You couldn’t have asked for better weather.”

Sarah Higgins. Photo: Courtesy of Jason Davis

“Scott Wietecha is a big inspiration. It feels good to come out and win it. I grew up here, my parents immigrated from South Sudan. It’s my hometown race—It’s good to come back,” says Madut. “I took the lead from the get-go. I went out, I was like, I’m just going to see who goes with me. “My goal was to win this. I was going to do whatever it took to win it.”

Patrick Rizzo from Kingston Springs, Tennessee with a time of 1:07:41 and Robin Pomeroy from Verona, Wisconsin finishing in 1:21:40 were the male and female overall winners of the St. Jude Rock ‘n’ Roll Half Marathon.

2023 St. Jude Rock ‘n’ Roll Running Series Nashville. Photo: Courtesy of Ryan Bethke

The Rock ‘n’ Roll Running Series is a best-in-class road running series ‘bringing fun to the run’ through music, entertainment and community immersion all combining in Nashville to provide an unforgettable experience. With a distance for everyone, runners and walkers hailed from all over to take on a running tour of Music City. The Rock ‘n’ Roll Running Series Nashville brings participants through the city’s most iconic neighborhoods with rich history around every corner, passing many iconic landmarks including Broadway’s honky-tonks, Dolly Parton’s recording studio, the Country Music Hall of Fame and many more all before ending the event at the finish line at Nissan Stadium, home of the Tennessee Titans.

For nine events including St. Jude Rock ‘n’ Roll Nashville, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital is the official benefiting charity partner of the St. Jude Rock ‘n‘ Roll Running Series. Thanks to the over 1,500 St. Jude Heros and the generous support of the Nashville community, people across the region and country that St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital continues to lead the way the world understands, treats and defeats childhood cancer and other life-threatening diseases. To learn more, visit www.stjude.org.

2023 St. Jude Rock ‘n’ Roll Running Series Nashville. Photo: Courtesy of Ryan Bethke

“We are deeply grateful to our Rock ‘n’ Roll Running Series partners and every person who was part of this year’s St. Jude Rock ‘n’ Roll Running Series Nashville—especially our St. Jude Heroes, who trained with a purpose in support of this lifesaving mission,” says Richard C. Shadyac Jr., President & CEO of ALSAC, the fundraising and awareness organization for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. “Truly, Music City came together this weekend to help accelerate research and treatment for kids with cancer. Our finish line will be crossed when no child dies from cancer, no matter where they happen to be born.”

Several local bands, including the Less Kerr and the Bayou Band, U.S. Airforce Band, Hype Creek and many more performed live on band stages along the route all before Greg Pratt, Angie Rey and Runaway June took the stage at the Finish Line Stage outside Nissan Stadium as the Encore Entertainment.

2023 St. Jude Rock ‘n’ Roll Running Series Nashville. Photo: Courtesy of Ryan Bethke

Steven Boero
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