Altman Wins Chickamauga Marathon For Fourth Time

Signal Mountain's Dianna Leun Shocks Herself As Women's Winner

  • Saturday, November 12, 2016
  • John Hunt

It wasn’t as cool as previous race days, but the weather was almost perfect for the hundreds of runners who gathered at Barnhardt Circle in Fort Oglethorpe for the 37th annual Chickamauga Battlefield Marathon.

It was also a historical day for a race that is run mostly in Chickamauga National Battlefield, the site of some of the most critical and fierce battles in the Civil War.

Knoxville’s Jason Altman became the first four-time winner of this event as he covered the 26.2-mile course in two hours, 42 minutes and 20 seconds as he beat runner-up Eddie Posey by 2:06.  Peter Volgyesi was third in 2:58:48 while Tripp McCallie broke three hours for the first time and was the last runner to dip under that magical time with his 2:59:21.

Dianna Leun was the women’s winner as she finished 15th overall with a time of 3:15:08 while Deborah Dawson was the female runner-up after crossing the line 27th in 3:25:56.  Mary Bowman was the third female as she had a time of 3:30:33 in finishing 32nd.

Adan Rodriguez was the overall winner in the half-marathon as the 16-year-old junior at Dalton High School won in his first attempt at the 13.1-mile distance with a time fo 1:15:26 as he averaged 5:46 per mile for the event.

Alan Outlaw was the runner-up in 1:16:22.

Angela Jenny was the women’s half-marathon winner in 1:35:56 as she averaged 7:20 whjle finishing 29th overall while Kathryn Outlaw, Alan’s wife, was the second female as she finished 33rd in 1:37:09.

Hugh Enicks, Jeff Richard, Patrick McGovern and Rob Preston are in that elite group of runners who have won this race three times, but Altman is the first four-timer as he recorded the slowest winning time of those four victories. 

The 37-year-old Knoxville resident is the Executive Director for the Covenant Health Knoxville Marathon who last won at Chickamauga in 2014.  He missed last year’s race after undergoing knee surgery in the fall, but at the time vowed to come back this year in an attempt to become the first four-time winner.

He knew that Posey was well within striking distance, but he just tried to maintain his focus and his near six-minute pace, knowing that as long as the wheels didn’t totally fall off, victory would most likely be his.

He was right.

“It was a good run for me, but I was a little bit paranoid that the second-place guy might catch me,” he said while relaxing with a bottle of water after his winning effort ended.

“I just tried to cruise on in and not fall apart, but those last two miles were a struggle.  I was hoping to win today, but you just never know who will show up.  I’m not as fast as I once was as this was the slowest of my four wins, but I’m really happy with the results,” he added.

Posey is a 44-year-old computer tech from Easley, S.C. who accepted the invitation of a friend to come run this race.  He didn’t arrive early enough on Friday to drive the course, but he appeared to like what he experienced on race day.

“My friends invited me and it was a great course, but today was my first time to see it,” he explained.

“Jason led the whole way and I knew I wouldn’t be able to catch him, so I just tried to maintain my pace with a goal of breaking 2:50.  I was running against myself today and it didn’t matter where I placed,” Posey nodded.

Volgyesi no doubt traveled the longest distance from home for Saturday’s race as he lives in Budapest, Hungary.  He made the 18-hour flight from home to Nashville where he’s visiting friends for a few days.

“I ran my first marathon here six years ago and I just love this place,” he said shortly after finishing his 17th such race.

“I’m getting slower as I’m aging, but I’m coming back next year as this is my favorite marathon.  This is such a beautiful and scenic course and I really enjoy running it,” he smiled.

McCallie is a 47-year-old employee of the downtown YMCA who completed his 12th marathon on Saturday.  It was by far his most memorable after breaking the three-hour mark for the first time.

“I’m so exhausted right now,” he said in a quiet tone.

“I felt it slipping away about the 22-mile mark, but I took a bite of a Butterfinger and ate a few jelly beans to give me a little sugar spike.  That helped me get through it, but I was running all alone the whole way.  Today’s time is an hour faster than my first one, so I’m really happy,” he added.

Leun, that bubbly and friendly 44-year-old from Signal Mountain, had set her personal record of 3:21 on this course two years ago when she was the women’s Masters champion in the Chattanooga Track Club.  She obviously does quite a bit of quality training, but she was totally not expecting to get another personal best by more than six minutes.

And to think she had to outrun a train around the 22-mile mark.

“That hurt,” she began.

“We had to outrun that train, but there was no way I was stopping.  I really just wanted a 3:20 today and would have settled for a minute improvement, but running the time I ran and being the overall winner wasn’t part of my plan today.

“I just got hooked up with that 3:15 pace group and Dean Thompson did a great job of encouraging me, but I didn’t register for this race until this past Monday.  It was an awesome experience, but the spectators and the volunteers are the best part of this event.

“I would have been happy to be around 3:20, but now I’m asking what more am I capable of?  Never in my wildest dreams did I expect to win today,” Erlanger’s Director of Performance Improvement nodded.

Dawson is a stay-at-home mother of three kids ages 12, 14 and 16.  She’s 44 years old and lives in Fort Mill, S.C.  It was her friend Terri Marshall who convinced her to make the trip for this popular race.

“I had a great race today, but Terri is my inspiration.  She’s a breast cancer survivor who asked me to come run this race with her and that’s why I’m here.  I’ve never fallen down as the finish line before, but I’m so glad it’s over.  I just have to give all the glory to God for giving me the strength and courage to do stuff like this,” the Navy veteran added with a smile.

Rodriguez finished sixth at the Georgia state cross country meet last Saturday.  He proved he’s pretty fast at longer distances as well.

“This is my first one and it was great,” he said shortly after finishing.

“I went out with the lead group and we ran together for about six miles, but that’s where I took the lead.  I don’t think I sped up as much as they slowed down, but I don’t like running behind people and that’s why I threw in a surge,” he added.

Outlaw just turned 39 on Nov. 1.  He knew that Rodriguez had good speed, but figured he would slow down at some point.

He was right, but he didn’t slow down until he had crossed the finish line.

“That was one of the most fun races I’ve ever run,” the owner of Fast Break Athletics explained.

“We had a group of six at six miles and were going up a hill at that point.  Adan just took off and never looked back.  I sort of figured he would slow down at some point, but he never did,” the bearded runner-up said.

Jenny is a 37-year-old from York, S.C. who is an 11-year Air Force veteran.  She too decided to make the trip when invited by friends.

“We had excellent conditions and I just loved the rolling hills.  I was just hoping to be around 1:35, but I had no intention of winning.  I just wanted to enjoy the experience and I did,” she said.

Kathryn Outlaw is a 36-year old psychologist at Normal Park School who felt really good for the first 11 miles.

“I felt great until about the 11-mile mark and that’s when I realized I needed some nutrition.  I also knew that I was in second place, so I just wanted to hold that pace as long as I could.  That was still a personal record by two minutes, so I’m happy,” she smiled.

David Moghani is a 50-year-old business owner from Scottsboro who was hoping to break 3:30 for a Boston qualifying time.  He came up a bit short, but was happy just as well.

“I really was shooting for a 3:20 if I happened to have a really good day and I wanted to qualify for Boston.  I think I came up a little bit short, but I still got a personal record by seven or eight minutes,” he said after taking 34th overall in 3:32:34.

Jon Hager and Kathleen Turchin were the defending champs in the marathon while Lucas Stocks and Hope Good were last year’s winners in the half.  None were present to defend their titles on Saturday.

SAM LINHOSS AND TESS COCHRAN were the overall 5K winners with times of 18:06 and 19:35, respectively.

THERE WERE 1,496 total runners in Saturday's three races, including 250 in the 5K, 896 in the half-marathon and 350 in the marathon.

The next race on the local schedule is the ever-popular Turkey Trot 8K at the Sports Barn on Lee Highway.  It will be held on Thanksgiving morning and always draws a large group of participants.

(Email John Hunt at nomarathonmoose@gmail.com)

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