They couldn’t have asked for a more perfect day to run.
A total of 1,316 runners gathered at Barnhardt Circle in Fort Oglethorpe on Saturday morning for the 36th annual Chickamauga Battlefield Marathon and conditions were ideal for a 26.2-mile race through one of the most scenic and popular running spots in the Chattanooga area.
Actually, there were 371 finishers in the marathon, 710 in the half-marathon and another 235 in the 5K.
Jon Hager was the overall winner in the marathon with a time of two hours, 40 minutes and 22 seconds while former UTC cross country and track standout Kathleen Turchin was the women’s winner in 3:06:27, which was 13th overall.
Lucas Stocks and Hope Good pasture were the overall winners in the half-marathon with times of 1:17:18 and 1:30:46.
Ken Porterfield and Kate Umbarger were the 5K winners in times of 17:41 and 22:41, respectively.
But on a day when skies were perfectly clear, temperatures were in the low 30s and there was no wind to speak of, many runners responded with personal-best times.
While Hager was the marathon overall winner, Alan Outlaw was the runner-up in 2:41:53. Bradley Adams was third in 2:48:50 while Ryan Shrum and Charles Smith completed the top five with times of 2:53:11 and 2:53:18.
The 30-year-old Turchin was victorious in her first marathon while Ashley Matthews was the runner-up in 3:15:58.
Jessica File was third in 3:17:06 while Dianna Leun and Bridget Forier were fourth and fifth with times of 3:22:03 and 3:23:01, respectively.
Hager was hoping to run about 10 minutes faster, but he ran a smart race with even splits throughout. He threw in a surge between the 13th and 15th miles that Outlaw couldn’t overcome.
“My main goal was to win, but it was a tough course,” said the 39-year-old Hager, who is a death investigator in Cummings, Ga.
“My cardio was no problem, but it was torture on the hills as I tried to run even splits. I was hoping to be in the low 2:30s, but I took my time on the first loop as I didn’t want to burn out. I also knew if I died, Alan would beat me and I didn’t want that to happen,” Hager added with a smile as more runners approached the finish line.
“Today was a super special day, but the last three miles sucked,” said Outlaw, a 38-year-old sales associate at Fast Break Athletics who won the first running of the Seven Bridges Marathon in 2010.
“I wanted to keep my heart rate under 155 and I was able to do that for the most part, but my legs started cramping in the second half. It was nice to run with Jon for the first half, but he put a gap on me between 13 and 15.
“I just tried to think about Van Townsend and Cameron Bean the whole time I was running. I ran my first marathon here eight years ago and I finished third the second time. Today I was second, but I don’t know what I could have done different,” he said while relaxing after the work had ended.
Turchin graduated from UTC in 2008 and now works as a registered nurse in the emergency room of Emory Midtown in Atlanta. She had done plenty of training on these roads, but had never done a marathon before.
“It was a little rough, but it was fun and I had a good time. I did a lot of running here back in the day. I was hoping to get under 3:15, but I’m sure I’ll be hurting tomorrow,” she suggested after catching her breath.
“I had done my training, so I was ready to run. It was a little cold at the start, but overall, I felt pretty good. I ran with Ashley for a long time, but I think she slowed down,” Turchin smiled.
Matthews is a 26-year-old high school Spanish teacher who graduated from Lee University in the spring. She has a personal best of 2:59 that she ran in 2013, but she wasn’t close to that on Saturday.
“I could have trained a lot better, but I’m proud of how I finished. I’m happy with today’s race, but she was a lot stronger than me,” she added.
Stocks, like Outlaw, works for Fast Break in addition to coaching track and cross country at Notre Dame High School. He took the lead in the first mile and never looked back.
“It was a good day as I led the whole way. That was a totally new experience for me. I was hoping for a PR and I got it. I remained scared the whole time, thinking that Patrick would come back at any time, but it was a lot harder than I thought it would be,” Stocks admitted while relaxing afterward.
Hall is a 31-year-old TVA employee who posted a PR of 1:13:34 five years ago. His goal on Saturday was to go under 1:21 so he could use it as a qualifier for the New York City Marathon.
“I was hoping that I might be able to catch him, but he was a good pacer for me,” Hall began.
“It’s been more than a year since I last ran a serious race, but I was hoping to get under 1:21 for New York and I did that with no problem. It was a cool morning and I felt good for the most part,” he added.
Goodpasture is a 24-year-old Unum employee from Ooltewah who graduated from Lee University in 2012 with a degree in communications. She was a runner in high school, but hasn’t done much since.
“I haven’t run in a long time, but I finally decided to start back. I run to relieve stress. I wanted to do well today and I thought I’d have a shot, but I wasn’t expecting to be the first female,” she said.
“I’ve been given a gift and I finally decided to use it again. Now I can go eat some Marble Slab ice cream later today,” she concluded with a laugh.
Pat Hagan has been a regular at marathon events at Chickamauga for many years, but he’s slowed down some in recent years and opted for the half-marathon on Saturday.
“I’ve done at least 32 of the 36 races here, but for the first time ever, I walked a minute every mile today. I think I’ve run about an hour faster than my time was, but I only did one 10-miler before my mother broke her hip three weeks ago,” the 65-year-old marathon veteran said after crossing the line in 2:16:46.
Tripp McCallie had a personal best of 3:00:40 in his ninth marathon, but the 46-year-old YMCA executive was just happy to be running.
“My wife Heather had emergency surgery for a ruptured disc in her neck on Thursday and this race was the last thing on my mind. I would have loved to have broken three hours, but I also knew I wanted to beat 3:10 that I did last year. I’m just happy to be finished,” he smiled.
Justin Guy had a time of 3:09:19 and the 42-year-old waiter at St. John’s was happy with the results.
“I think my time for the first half was about 1:30. My goal was to be around 3:03, but I qualified for Boston so I’m happy. I was a pacer here in 2008,” he said afterward.
(Email John Hunt at nomarathonmoose@gmail.com)