Nearly 1200 marathon participants and 300 relay teams toed the line at the 2011 Atlanta Marathon and Marathon Relay on Sunday, October 30. The event started and finished at Atlantic Station near Midtown Atlanta. 2011 marked the 49th running of the Atlanta Marathon, which was previously held in conjunction with the Atlanta Half Marathon on Thanksgiving Day, as well as the inaugural running of the Atlanta Marathon Relay.
“From the sell-out of the inaugural Atlanta Marathon Relay, to the near perfect weather conditions and fantastic course support from our volunteers and the 18 Atlanta-based nonprofit organizations that were part of the Atlanta Track Club’s Adopt a Marathon Mile program, we couldn’t have asked for a better event,” said Tracey Russell, Executive Director of the Atlanta Track Club.
In a first for the Atlanta Marathon, the husband and wife duo of Justin Gillette and Melissa Gillette, both 28 of Goshen, Ind., took home first place victories in the overall male and female races at the 2011 Atlanta Marathon with times of 2:33:45 and 3:01:40 respectively. Justin took the lead early in the race around mile three and was able to maintain his lead throughout, crossing the finish nearly seven and a half minutes ahead of second place finisher, Charles Slick of Atlanta. Melissa drew her motivation to tackle the hilly, Atlanta course from the crowd support along the way which contributed to her nearly six minute lead over second place finisher, Patricia Coppel of Atlanta.
The Atlanta Track Club Men’s Open Team made up of Cory Baumann, Mike Gerber, Andrew Mearns and Piotr Witczak took top honors in the men’s relay division with a time of 2:23:28 at the Atlanta Marathon Relay, while team “birthday CAKE” made up of Anna Collins, Kay Crawford, Clara Easterlin and Elyse Ensor claimed first in the women’s relay division with a time of 3:23:59.
Throughout the Atlanta Marathon and Marathon Relay participants were treated to aid station and cheer zone support from 18 metro Atlanta based nonprofits that were selected to be part of the Atlanta Track Club’s Adopt a Marathon Mile program. The various organizations each adopted a mile of the course and provided a minimum of 30 volunteers to support an aid station and cheer zone within their mile. Organizations that met the minimum requirements during the event will receive a $3,500 – $7,500 donation from the Atlanta Track Club based on each organization’s level of support.
Complete results for the Atlanta Marathon and Marathon Relay are posted at atlantamarathon.org.
2011 Atlanta Marathon Prize Money Recipients (Prize money awarded based on official gun time.)
Overall Male
Place
Name
Age
City, State
Time
Prize Money
1
Justin Gillette
28
Goshen, Ind.
2:33:45
$1,000
2
Charles Slick
26
Atlanta, Ga.
2:41:16
$700
3
John Piggott
46
Williamsburg, Va.
2:44:21
$500
4
Andrew Clarke
30
Atlanta, Ga.
2:44:53
$400
5
Ryan Purcell
24
Atlanta, Ga.
2:46:42
$300
6
Juan Soto
25
Gainesville, Ga.
2:49:01
$250
7
Roy Smoot
28
Atlanta, Ga.
2:50:00
$200
8
Christopher Kimbel
27
Atlanta, Ga.
2:56:37
$150
Overall Female
Place
Name
Age
City, State
Time
Prize Money
1
Melissa Gillette
28
Goshen, Ind.
3:01:40
$1,000
2
Patricia Coppel
28
Atlanta, Ga.
3:07:36
$700
3
Mary Chind
26
Atlanta, Ga.
3:07:55
$500
4
Izabela Amos
29
Atlanta, Ga.
3:12:00
$400
5
Laurie Knowles
34
Atlanta, Ga.
3:12:02
$300
6
Gina Rouse
31
Knoxville, Tenn.
3:15:20
$250
7
Leah Thomas
34
Atlanta, Ga.
3:15:20
$200
8
Kathryn Kramer
24
Atlanta, Ga.
3:20:31
$150
Masters Male
Place
Name
Age
City, State
Time
Prize Money
1
John Piggott
46
Williamsburg, Va.
2:44:21
$500
2
Donald Mack
44
Limerick, Pa.
3:12:47
$400
3
Mike Wien
60
Marietta, Ga.
3:13:55
$300
Masters Female
Place
Name
Age
City, State
Time
Prize Money
1
Mary Delp
41
Alpharetta, Ga.
3:24:30
$500
2
Lisa Dillman
44
Decatur, Ga.
3:27:30
$400
3
Sheryl Ehft
57
Bally, Pa.
3:32:32
$300
Grandmaster Male
Place
Name
Age
City, State
Time
Prize Money
1
Mike Wien
60
Marietta, Ga.
3:13:55
$250
Grandmaster Female
Place
Name
Age
City, State
Time
Prize Money
1
Sheryl Ehft
57
Bally, Pa.
3:32:32
$250
Out-of-State Male
Place
Name
Age
City, State
Time
Prize Money
1
Justin Gillette
28
Goshen, Ind.
2:33:45
$300
Out-of-State Female
Place
Name
Age
City, State
Time
Prize Money
1
Melissa Gillette
28
Goshen, Ind.
3:01:40
$300