Some of this has already been covered but I thought that I would put it in one place. Non Metallic Type (NM) cable must be supported within Eight Inches of a non clamping box entry or within Twelve Inches of a clamped box entry (314.17). NM must be supported not further apart than every Four and one half Feet. A bored hole is considered a point of support. The rub is that it must closely follow the building surface so you will usually have to staple it more often than Four and one half Feet lest it sag. Not to be quarrelsome but you cannot run NM that is smaller than Three Number Eight or Two Number Six American Wire Gauge (8/3 or 6/2 AWG) under the joist unless it is run on running boards. On the side of the joists it should be run at least One and one quarter Inches from any edge that maybe penetrated by nails, screws or other fasteners. In your case good practice would be to use only the middle third of a joist's height to fasten the cable to. That keeps it away from either edge by far enough to be unlikely to be damaged. Don't bend it tighter than a radius of five times it's largest width at the inside of the bend. That means that you will want the change from the side of a joist to a bored hole through the joist to be loose enough to not visually distort the jacket.
For ease of running the NM cable through bored holes you will want all of the holes to be bored in a right angle run to the direction of the joist. If you do not have the use of a drill that will fit between the joists so as to bore at a right angle then bore every other hole at an upward angle in one direction and come back the other way drilling the remaining holes at the opposing upward angle. Once you do that you can feed the cable up through one hole and back down through the other two joists at a time. It is easier to pull the cable directly in a line through holes that are drilled at a right angle to the face of the joists however. So you may want to rent a right angle drill motor and buy a short Forstner bit or a stubby auger bit.
334.15 Exposed Work
In exposed work, except as provided in 300.11(A), cable shall be installed as specified in 334.15(A) thro ugh (C).
(A) To Follow Surface. Cable shall closely follow the surface of the building finish or of running boards.
(C) In Unfinished Basements and Crawl Spaces. Where cable is run at angles with joists in unfinished basements and crawl space s, it shall be permissible to secure cables not smaller than two 6 AWG or three 8 AWG conductors directly to the lower edges of the joists. Smaller cables shall be run either through bored holes in joists or on running boards. Nonmetallic-sheathed cable installed on the wall of an unfinished basement shall be permitted to be installed in a listed conduit or tubing or shall be protected in accordance with 300.4. Conduit or tubing shall be provided with a suitable insulating bushing or adapter at the point the cable enters the raceway. The sheath of the nonmetallic-sheathed cable shall extend through the conduit or tubing and into the outlet or device box not less than 6 mm (1⁄4 in.). The cable shall be secured within 300 mm (12 in.) of the point where the cable enters the conduit or tubing. Metal conduit, tubing, and metal outlet boxes shall be connected to an equipment grounding conductor complying with the provisions of 250.86 and 250.148.
334.24 Bending Radius
Bends in Types NM, NMC, and NMS cable shall be so made that the cable will not be damaged. The radius of the curve of the inner edge of any bend during or after installation shall not be less than five times the diameter of the cable.
334.30 Securing and Supporting
Nonmetallic-sheathed cable shall be supported and secured by staples, cable ties, straps, hanger s, or similar fittings designed and installed so as not to damage the cable, at intervals not exceeding 1.4 m (41⁄2 ft) and within 300 mm (12 in.) of every outlet box, junction box, cabinet, or fitting. Flat cables shall not be stapled on edge. Sections of cable protected from physical damage by raceway shall not be required to be secured within the raceway.
