KNOXVILLE, Tenn. (WATE) — Runners have been traveling to Knoxville for their marathon since the inaugural race in 2005, but only a few can claim to be the fastest finishers ever at the race.

The course record for the Covenant Health Knoxville Marathon was set in 2013 by Wojciech Kopec. He ran the 26.2-mile race in 2:22:15. His time in 2013 still stands as the fastest time for the marathon. However, this time is not Kopec’s fastest time. According to World Athletics, he ran the 2014 Limassol Marathon in Cyprus in 2:17:27. Kopec’s record has not been broken in the decade since it was set, however in 2019, Ethan Coffey finished in 2:22:58 just 43 seconds short of Kopec’s time.

The women’s record for the Knoxville Marathon was set in 2005 by Irina Bogacheva during the inaugural event. She completed the race in 2:41:41. She ran the marathon a year after competing in the 2004 Summer Olympics. Her record has stood strong for 18 years. Looking through past results, the closest anyone has come to beating her record was in 2019 when Gina Rouse finished in 2:50:14.

The records for the Covenant Health Knoxville Half-Marathon were set in 2012. Daniel Kirwa won the men’s race with a time of 1:06:33 and Lillian Mariita won the women’s race with a time of 1:16:35. Both are from Kenya.

Their records have stood for over a decade. In 2017, Julius Koskie was able to get within a minute of Kirwa’s time by finishing the race in 1:07:23. The closest a runner has ever come to beating Mariita’s time was in 2019 by Jane Bareikis who finished in 1:17:52, just over one minute slower than Mariita.

The records for the Covenant Health Knoxville 5K were set in 2022, the most recent of the records to be set. Scott Greeves earned the men’s record by finishing in 15:10 and Rachel McGovern earned the women’s record by finishing in 18:12. Greeves bet the previous record of 15:44 set by David Cheromei in 2012. McGovern beat the record set in 2009 of 18:18 by Karen Underwood-Famiglietti.

All of these records could be beaten in 2023 as runners prepare for the races on April 1-2. Once the finishers start crossing the finish line, you can find results here.

For anyone looking to run, here’s how to register. WATE is also live-streaming the event on our YouTube Channel and our website.