ATLANTA – November 27, 2014 – Approximately 11,000 runners and walkers earned their turkey this Thanksgiving at the 2014 Atlanta Half Marathon events on Thursday, November 27. In addition to the Atlanta Half Marathon presented by Northside Hospital, the event featured the Thanksgiving Day 5K, the Mashed Potato Mile for participants ages 7 and older and the Gravy Gallop for kids ages 6 and under.
Michael Conway, 22 and Anne Kelly, 20 took home victories as the overall male and female, respectively, in the Atlanta Half Marathon presented by Northside Hospital. Conway, from West Hartford, CT finished in 1:08:00 while Kelly, from Alpharetta, GA broke the tape in 1:25:40.
For the Thanksgiving Day 5K, Nicholas Schuetze, 32, of Rome, GA broke the tape in 15:57 and was the male overall winner, while Francine Nzilampa, 31, of Baton Rouge, LA was the overall female winner with a time of 18:08.
The day’s events provided an opportunity for entire families to participate. Hundreds of young runners started their Thanksgiving Day with the Gravy Gallop and Mashed Potato Mile.
“The Atlanta Half Marathon events are a Thanksgiving Day tradition for many Atlanta area families,” said Rich Kenah, Atlanta Track Club’s executive director. “Thousands of runners and walkers earned their turkey out there on the roads today and Atlanta Track Club is thankful to the many hundreds of volunteers who helped us deliver a memorable day for all participants.”
Atlanta Track Club partnered with Atlanta Mission in an effort to collect “a ton of clothing” for the homeless during the Atlanta Half Marathon events. Participants were asked to donate old shirts, pants and shoes, with a goal of gathering one ton, or 2,000 lbs., of clothing. Donations could be made in one of two ways: by dropping off clothing at participating Big Peach Running Co. locations during packet pickup or wearing the items as warm-up clothing on race day and shedding them at the start of the race or along the course. Atlanta Track Club collected all clothing discarded on race day to be cleaned and donated.
Complete results for the 2014 Atlanta Half Marathon presented by Northside Hospital and Thanksgiving Day 5K are posted at atlantahalfmarathon.org.
About Atlanta Track Club
Atlanta Track Club is a nonprofit committed to creating an active and healthy Atlanta. Through running and walking, Atlanta Track Club motivates, inspires and engages the community to enjoy a healthier lifestyle. With more than 21,000 members, Atlanta Track Club is the second largest running organization in the United States. In addition to the AJC Peachtree Road Race (peachtreeroadrace.org) – the largest 10K running event in the world and the Atlanta Half Marathon and Thanksgiving Day 5K (atlantahalfmarathon.org), Atlanta Track Club directs more than 30 events per year. Through the support of its members and volunteers, Atlanta Track Club also maintains a number of community initiatives including organizing and promoting the Kilometer Kids youth running program to metro Atlanta youth, honoring high school cross country and track and field athletes through Atlanta Track Club’s All-Metro Banquets and supporting the Grady Bicycle EMT program. For more information on Atlanta Track Club, visit atlantatrackclub.org.