Jason Altman came from Knoxville again and was settling for nothing less than first place in the 33rd Chickamauga Battlefield Marathon.
For first-time participant Talva Parker of Lee’s Summit, Mo., first place was a wonderful bonus on a splendid morning Saturday.
Her main goal was to finish in under four hours in the 43rd state in which she has run a 26.2-mile race since 1997. She did that easily, in 3 hours, 20 minutes, 56 seconds, and that made her the women’s overall winner.
In another bonus, 45-year-old local runner Ryan Shrum finished in under three hours for the first time in his 19 marathons and wound up second overall with a closing surge. He was the masters winner also with his 2:56:31 finish.
Tim Phillips of Rossville repeated his wheelchair victory in 2:28.53.