Wisdom to guide you.

Emily Noble has been running and helping to create marathons since 2005. She has completed marathons as a charity runner, a middle/back of the pack runner, a front of the pack runner, a master’s elite runner, an undertrained-and-just-trying-to-finish runner, a negative-split elated runner, a very-sorry-for-going-out-too-fast runner, and even, regrettably, a super-disappointed DNF runner. As a volunteer, Emily has worked starting lines, finish lines, water stops, information booths, and race expos, and she has been a course monitor, planned awards, and served as a pacer. Emily is a past president of the Athens Road Runners Board and is the Director of the Athens Road Runners Racing Team. She served on the Twin Cities Marathon Association from 2012-2014. She is our dreamer and our visionary, and she currently devotes herself to creating the lululemon Classic City Marathon!

Carole Black is the owner of Classic Race Services and a long-time fixture of race management in north Georgia. Carole has been involved with Classic Race Services for 20 years and owner for the past 13. She started running in her forties and ran her first (and only) marathon the year she turned 50! Although her running has turned to walking now, Carole remains passionate about running and the running community. Her goal is to support all race participants, spectators, and community members through Classic Race Services, by providing exceptional race management and finish line services. She and her expert team are behind the scenes getting the details right from the earliest stages of race planning through the last minutes of the last participant’s race. You will also see her front and center as she welcomes and encourages everyone at the starting line — and then she is at the finish line cheering us on! Carole welcomes you to the Classic City Marathon and says, as always, "Have a good race, and have a safe race!”

Steve Follin joined the ARR Board in 2022 and has been a long-time ARR member. He has been a runner for over four decades and has been pounding the pavement in Athens since 1984. His running experience includes 30+ marathons and Top 10 age group finishes at Boston and New York, as well as four consecutive age group wins at the Myrtle Beach Marathon. In 2021, Steve was one of several co-winners of ARR’s Grand Prix racing series. Before retiring in 2020, Steve was a management consultant advising Fortune 100 companies, governments, and non-profit organizations, as well as serving on the boards of several non-profit organizations. Steve now focuses his project-management expertise on keeping the Association in line and our planning on schedule!

Anne Marcotte worked her way up to running a whole mile in 2011 -- and then she and her husband Steve ran the New York City Marathon together in 2014, when she was 50 years old. She has since run two more marathons, maybe 25 halfs, and many smaller races, and she is starting to believe that she might actually be “a runner.” Anne served as a faculty member and department head at the University of Georgia for 27 years and currently works at Athens Technical College supporting their adult ESL/ESOL and high-school equivalency programs. She is helping the marathon committee with writing, marketing, publicity, and the website.

Dr. Joe Colasurdo found his passion for running as a way to manage stress. Over the past decade, Dr. Joe has played an essential role as a medical volunteer in various races and marathons across the country. As a practicing podiatrist at 26 Foot & Ankle Watkinsville, his professional focus is on addressing a wide spectrum of sports-related injuries, ensuring athletes can pursue their passion safely and healthily. Dr. Joe's background in managing medical logistics gives him expertise that he is putting to good use as the coordinator of medical and health-related volunteers and information for our races. His medical team's unwavering commitment to the well-being of athletes assures that our race and our racers are as safe and as successful as they can possibly be.

Monica Huff is a proud Athenian and always tries to “Run with joy!” Monica has run 128 marathons and was the 4th woman ever to run a Boston Qualifying (BQ) marathon time in every state plus DC. To celebrate 20+ years of running, Monica ran a marathon per month in 2022! Monica is a Cognitive Psychologist for the U.S. government and the Immediate Past President of Athens Road Runners. As lead for our Charity Partners efforts, Monica focuses on connecting our Association with community partners who can use our support, and she cannot wait to welcome you to Athens and our spectacular running community!

Rachel Irwin is our director of Cheer Zones. As a former cheerleader herself and an accomplished marathon runner, Rachel knows a lot about both cheering and running! Email her if your family, business, team, or other group would like to host a cheer zone at the Classic City Marathon!

Victoria Redmon has always had a love/hate relationship with running. She tends to find herself at the back of the pack smiling and sweating all the way to the finish line. Victoria moved to Athens, GA in 2021 to be with her husband, Worth, and currently serves as the Assistant Director for Student Transitions at UGA. Creating community and empowering women have always been among her passions. She has been both a coach and Solemate fundraiser for Girls on the Run, served on the GOTR ATL Young Professionals Board, and started Athens' newest running group, the Slow Girl Run Club (SGRC)! She is the link between the Association and our amazing team of Ambassadors, and she is also part of the creative energy behind our social media efforts!

James Barlament is a Southeast Georgia native who has lived in Athens for 25 years now. Most of his running seems to be just to keep up with his wife Chrissy and daughter Penny, but James also has his own successes running all distances up to marathons and beyond. After earning two degrees from UGA, he has spent his career working in the public health and education fields, currently serving as the Executive Director of Innovation, Strategy, and Governance for the Clarke County School District. James loves the beautiful city of Athens and loves studying maps, and he combines these interests by leading the Course Committee for the Classic City Marathon Association. We love the courses he has designed, and we can’t wait to share them with you!

Lisa Patton is a dynamic personal trainer and running coach at Transfit Athens, a women’s training studio nestled in the 5 Points neighborhood. With a lifelong passion for sports, Lisa continued her athletic journey by playing college basketball and cross country. Today, she channels her energy into staying active with her four children and running, which she values for its mental health benefits and social opportunities. An accomplished runner, Lisa has completed numerous marathons and half-marathons, and in 2023, she joined the Athens Road Runners Racing Team. She ran the inaugural Classic City Marathon, and this year she is organizing the hundreds of volunteers who help us put on the best race weekend ever!

Catherine Shinholser and her husband, Dustin, own Fleet Feet Athens-Oconee and love being involved in the incredible running community. They have two young kids who can often be spotted with Catherine in the running stroller! Catherine taught elementary school for 13 years and created / coached several youth running clubs during that time. She has also been the director of the Athens Twilight 5K, Kids Run, and $1,000 Mile for multiple years. Catherine has run many half and full marathons and loves the feeling of hard work paying off at a race. She is excited to create the ultimate post-race experience for runners and their families at the finish line of the Classic City Marathon!

Dustin Shinholser and his wife, Catherine, are the owners of Fleet Feet Athens-Oconee. Between his years as a runner, his years with Fleet Feet, and his experience organizing races like the Lake Chapman 15K and 5K every year, Dustin has learned a thing or two about race Expos! He knows what good Expos are like from the runners’ perspective, and he knows what good Expos are like from the vendors’ perspective. His goal is to make the Classic City Marathon Expo quite possibly the best race Expo you’ve ever attended.

Mandy Perry grew up playing all the sports that involved running as a necessary chore. She learned to embrace running on its own for mental health after college, and she has since made running for fun one of her main hobbies. From being part of the 100 Mile Club to getting a jumpy photo at as many races as possible, Mandy now aims to “run a great story” -- her goal is to inspire others to make running fun. She helps the Association with some fun social media work and with some more necessary announcements.

Margaret Mosher works as a graphic designer for the UGA Athletic Association, helping to create the visual content for all 21 sports teams at UGA. She is also a lifelong painter, and she has worked as a freelance artist and muralist since 2015. A longterm member of the Athens Road Runners, Marge lives in Athens with her husband Paul and daughter Molly. Marge’s artistic vision and graphic-design expertise created a lot of what you see in our Association’s visual media!

Tyra Byers is a sustainability specialist with over 20 years of experience in teaching sustainability at the University of Georgia. She is our committee’s director of sustainability and is helping us create an environmentally friendly race! Tyra is also one of the founding members of the Athens Road Runners!

Reese Walker holds an art degree from the University of Georgia and has a great sense of style! He runs with unbridled joy and races with enthusiastic abandon. Reese is co-director of the T-shirt design committee with his partner in fashion Chrissy Proctor.

Chrissy Proctor is a native of Danielsville, GA, which is just north of Athens. She grew up running on country roads and ran track and cross country in high school. She was a triple Dawg, earning her Bachelor’s, Master’s and Ph.D. from the University of Georgia. She is a Clinical Assistant Professor in the UGA College of Public Health. Chrissy is a highly successful road and trail runner, excelling at the marathon and half marathon distances. To date, she has run 16 marathons, including 5 Boston Marathons. She brings a wealth of knowledge about training, nutrition, mental toughness, consistency, and resilience — and she is focusing all her expertise onto making sure we have the best race shirt and other race merchandise!

Kevin Burke is a professor of English Education at the University of Georgia. He's been running marathons (at wildly different paces!) for over twenty years. Kevin’s professional expertise includes connecting the arts and connecting communities when no one else thought to involve the arts or involve communities, and he brings that same vision to our race’s awards, medals, and poster. He connects us to the Clarke County School District for student medal designers, and he connects us to professional artists in Athens to create our posters. He is thrilled to get to build a race with friends to showcase the city of Athens and its artists.

Tammy Gilland is the executive director of philanthropy at Piedmont Medical. She is a marathon runner, a running enthusiast, and a HUGE DAWGS fan!!! She is serving as our liaison to the Athens-area medical community and especially to our partner and Platinum Sponsor Piedmont Athens Regional hospital. In this role, Tammy is sharing her organizational skills, community connections, and healthcare systems expertise in ways that will help to ensure the health and safety of all race participants, volunteers, and spectators.

Michael Marshall raced Division III track and cross-country in college, took a hiatus from running in his 30s and 40s, and has now returned to the sport with a bit of life experience behind him. He races in events from the mile to ultra-marathons, and he is often seen cheering for his sons’ races, as well. Michael came to Athens in 2001, works as a Professor of Art at the University of Georgia, enjoys both road running and trails, and is a member of Athens Road Runners. As our Secretary, Michael keeps our Association’s written records complete, organized, and in top shape!

Dennis Revell is a long time runner and board member of the Athens Road Runners. He participates in just about every race in town, and many people in Athens credit him with encouraging them to stick with running or even to try a marathon! Dennis is also the only gentleman on our Association who knows his actual formal hat size — a fact that fits, of course, with his numbers-based accounting expertise. Dennis is in charge of our finances and keeps us strictly in compliance with every financial requirement we must meet as a 503(c) nonprofit and as the steward of our sponsors’ and donors’ generosity.

Griffin and Macy Clabaugh are our tag team duo in charge of all signage for the Classic City Marathon weekend. From finding the Expo to crossing the Finish Line, you will know where you are and where to go next because of their many efforts. You may also recognize them from our promotional materials. (They are just so darn photogenic!)

Greg Waddell has loved running since age 12 and, in round numbers, is now calling it a 50-year career as a competitive runner and triathlete. He has completed well over 70 marathons, 2 Ironman triathlons, and at least 25 triathlons at distances from sprint to half-ironman. Greg has shared his expertise with other racers by serving as a pacer for MarathonPacing.com for over 10 years, and he is now focused on pacers for the Classic City Marathon and Half Marathon. His efforts in finding, organizing, training, and supporting our amazing teams of pacers will help you every step of your race! (And watch for the tailgate-style Cheer Zone he and his wife Dee Waddell will be hosting. Go Dawgs!)

Glen Anderson is a fixture in the Athens Road Runner community who describes himself with a grin as a middling long-distance runner. He enjoys group runs that end with sharing drinks afterward, and he can happily spend most of a beautiful morning sitting on Hendershots’ porch yammering. He has completed several notable running events of various distances, and he is currently committed to thinking through every detail of our marathon relay. He is hoping that you use the WARM and DRY vans to move around the city on race day!

Ryan Carroll ran his first 5k in 2007, first half marathon in 2012, and first full marathon in 2024 – the inaugural Classic City Marathon, naturally. Since joining Athens Road Runners in 2021, he has become much more focused on the sport and the running community in Athens. He currently serves on the Athens Road Runners board as secretary. After a great experience at the 2024 Classic City Marathon, Ryan joined our Association to help with our website.