Live Music and Other Entertainment
You probably want to squeeze as much live music and such into all your free time. And you don’t have to like country music. Consult my Live Music posts to guide to the kind of music you enjoy.
Friday Evening
If you’ve been training, I shouldn’t have to remind about alcohol consumption and crazy eating the night before the race. Save your celebrating until Saturday.
The restaurants and bars along Lower Broadway will be packed. Try the off-Broadway venues where waits may be shorter. Even better, visit a nearby neighborhood such as The Gulch, Germantown, East Nashville, Wedgewood/Houston, 12South, or Midtown.
Saturday Parking
Street parking is in short supply and things are a bit goofy since parking with QR codes was introduced last year. Also note: no parking at Nissan Stadium on Saturday.
You can consult ParkItDowntown for locations of pay lots. The cheapest parking is found at our government-owned lots: the Metro Courthouse lot [map], Downtown Library [map], and Music City Center [map]. More about downtown parking here.
You can also make reservations Spot Hero: (private company) 10K/5K, Half/Full, Finish
Take the Old Town Trolley
You can purchase round-trip Old Town Trolley shuttle passes for $25. Routes originate from Holiday Inn-Vanderbilt, Sheraton-Music City, Opry Mills, Airport Center and Loews Vanderbilt. There’s also a route from the finish line back to the starting line.
Road Closures
You can never have too much info so here’s the official pdf rundown on road closures day by day. For additional info, consult Tennessean’s report on closures and parking
Getting to the Starting Line
The starting line for the Full and Half Marathon is Broadway at Rosa Parks Blvd. (also known as 8th Ave.) The starting line for the 5k and 10k is on Demonbreun Street at Rosa Parks Blvd.
The Music City Star is your only railway option. It runs from Lebanon on the east side of town through Mount Juliet and Donelson to downtown. Here’s the schedule for race day.
Unless you’re within walking distance of the starting line, allow A LOT of extra time to get downtown. There are multiple locations for runner drop-off. Check the official transportation page for locations as well as parking and hotel shuttle information. NOTE: Nissan Stadium parking lots will NOT be available this year.
The Races
People rave about two distinctions of the Nashville races: live music all along the way and the rallying support from people who line the streets to cheer you on. Like many, we set up a curbside brunch with friends to watch the masses sprint past.
This year there are 20+ stages with live entertainment along with convenient water and first aid stations. The 5k runners will hear live music from four stages.
In addition to downtown, distance runners will hoof it past Music Row, Belmont University, the trendy neighborhoods of 12South, The Gulch, Germantown, and East Nashville.
- 6:30am 5k and 6.15 mile races/starting line at 8th and Demonbreun
- 7:20am Marathon and Half-Marathon races/starting line at 8th and Broadway
The Kids Rock race is held on Sunday, 1pm at Nissan Stadium.
Post-Race Festival
A festival, open to all, will be held at the finish line featuring multiple artists.
Exit Strategy
Come Sunday, the Nashville airport will be packed so get there 2 hours ahead of your flight. If you have time after passing security, try one of our local restaurants in the airport.