Jessica MarlierSeth Ruhling from Collegedale Academy and Matt Jenkins from Soddy-Daisy were together for a semester in the Lee University running program and became - yes - fast friends.
They were together again Thursday morning at the front of the Sportsbarn Turkey Trot 8k in East Brainerd.
The 22-year-old Ruhling went out hard and never trailed on the way to a first-place finish in 26 minutes, 54 seconds. Jenkins, who just turned 23, was second in 27:21 out of nearly 700 finishers.
Daniel Goetz outsprinted his older brother Joseph, last year's overall winner, for third place - 27:27 to 27:30. Kevin Huwe in 27:47 was fifth. John Sillery was sixth and the masters winner in 28:05.
Jessica Marlier did repeat as the women's winner, and she came from Minnesota to do it. She had just moved from Chattanooga to Vermont and came back home when she won the 2015 race in 29:58, and she was pleased that she wasn't too far off that time with her 31:56 Thursday.
"I haven't been doing much speed work. I really didn't know what to expect," the 31-year-old Marlier said. "My priority has been on my new job, not running. I knew it was going to hurt, and it did, but in a good way. It was tougher than normal, but it was worth it."
She is the assistant girls' dean at a boarding school in Hutchinson, Minn., and said the job is time-consuming but she loves it. She was going to a family gathering Thursday afternoon in Atlanta but will be running again Sunday in the Space Coast Marathon in Florida, pacing the 3:30 group.
"The Turkey Trot was part of the plan. I love this race, even with the hills. And it's always good to come home," she said.
Dianna Leun was the second female and the women's masters winner in 31:56.
Daniel Goetz, 29, said he had not run much in the two weeks since the New York City Marathon and found Thursday's return to competition "a little more painful than I wanted," but overall was OK with his race. And with beating his brother with their family in attendance. Their nephew ran in the Kiddie K.
"Well, I had this course record for one year," said Joseph, 33, who prefers running in cooler temperatures than Thursday's. "And I finished strong. I caught up to Daniel and actually passed him - that was fun. But it was good to let him win once and have some glory."
Ruhling has started doing triathlons and brought the philosophy of "running on tired legs" to Thursday's race, with the approach of starting fast and at the worst "running a 5k on tired legs."
Despite leading the whole way, he didn't feel certain of victory until turning off Lee Highway for the final stretch around the Sportsbarn East and the office building behind it.
He said he wondered until then if Jenkins or Daniel Goetz "had more" for a closing surge.
"I knew both of those guys were in marathon training, but you never know," said Ruhling, who's in his last year at Southern Adventist University after transferring from Lee.
This was his third Turkey Trot but first in four years, and he said he wanted to test his fitness level Thursday because he had not raced "in a while."
"It was not too bad - better than I thought it would be," Ruhling said with a laugh.
Jenkins couldn't catch his friend but had his best Trot finish and time, so he was looking forward to maybe jogging "a little" and definitely eating and sleeping later in the day.
He was expecting to finish "in the top three or top five," so second place was a reason to be grateful as Thanksgiving Day began.
Contact Ron Bush at rbush@timesfreepress.com or 423-757-6291.