no more thanksgiving day atlanta marathon

I just went to look at the Atlanta Track Club website to see what the registration cost for the Atlanta Marathon is, but apparently there’s no Thanksgiving Day Atlanta Marathon this year. Bummer! I looked at the website last week or so, but it has since changed to just the half and a 5k. My mom was talking this weekend about wanting to do the half, so I had semi-settled on doing the Thanksgiving marathon instead of one earlier in the year. If she still wants to do it, maybe I will do the half as well. A little sleuthing finds this press release here. So, the marathon wasn’t canceled altogether, but hopefully will be moved to another date.

This is a good opportunity for the Atlanta Marathon to grow. The Thanksgiving marathon has been pretty small compared to the Georgia Marathon held in March (I think around 1000 runners or less for the Atlanta full compared to around 5000 for the Georgia full, though I haven’t double checked those numbers recently – both have lots of half marathon participants). Changing the date will hopefully generate more interest from participants and volunteers who might have been hesitant to take over a big holiday with a race. Previously, they had a five hour time limit, also due in part to the holiday and manpower of running a big event on a holiday. I’m crossing my fingers that it remains a fall marathon since many of the marathons in Georgia are run earlier in the year (Georgia Marathon, Snickers Albany, Museum of Aviation, Callaway Gardens, etc). It looks like the Weather Channel dropped their sponsorship of the event last year (they sponsored in 2008, but I’m not seeing a title sponsor for 2009), so maybe they can pick up a new title sponsor by changing the date and increasing the number of runners. It will be interesting to see how the marathon will fare as a standalone event if there’s not a half marathon being run concurrently.

It looks like this year the half marathon will both start and finish at Turner Field, so there’s a new course for half marathoners to look forward to. In years past, it began near the Chamblee Marta station, followed the second half of the marathon route, and finished at Turner field. The half is a good distance to run on a holiday; you can get up early, get it done within a couple of hours, and continue on with your day feeling accomplished but not totally drained.

“Thanksgiving Day 5K added and Atlanta Marathon to be moved to new date

ATLANTA – (May 4, 2010) – The Atlanta Track Club, organizer of the Atlanta Marathon and Half Marathon, announced changes to its annual Thanksgiving Day events. The 2010 event, which will take place on Thursday, November 25, will continue to kick off with the Atlanta Half Marathon. In addition to the Atlanta Half Marathon, the event will also include the inaugural Thanksgiving Day 5K run / walk, while the Atlanta Track Club explores an alternative date for the Atlanta Marathon.

The Thanksgiving Day 5K provides the opportunity for runners and walkers of all abilities to participate in the holiday festivities and will feature long-sleeve technical shirts for all participants along with a commemorative finisher’s medal. Other highlights of the Atlanta Half Marathon and Thanksgiving Day 5K include the Mashed Potato Mile for children ages 7 to 12 and the Drumstick Dash for kids 6 and under.

“Whether you are up for the challenge of running a half-marathon, looking to complete your first 5K or simply want to cheer on your favorite future half-marathoner in one of the kid’s races, the Atlanta Half Marathon and Thanksgiving Day 5K provide a perfect way for the entire family to kick off the Thanksgiving holiday,” commented Tracey Russell, Executive Director of the Atlanta Track Club.

While the Atlanta Marathon will no longer take place on Thanksgiving Day, the Atlanta Track Club is currently exploring new dates for the marathon.

“The Atlanta Track Club is working diligently to determine a better date for the Atlanta Marathon,” stated Russell. “This move off of Thanksgiving Day will allow us to extend the course time limit from five hours to six-plus hours, allowing runners of all abilities to participate in the event.”

Online registration for the Atlanta Half Marathon and Thanksgiving Day 5K is available at www.atlantatrackclub.org through Sunday, November 21, 2010. Entry for the Atlanta Half Marathon is $45 through August 31, and registration for the Thanksgiving Day 5K is $25 through August 31. Both events will start and finish just outside of Turner Field in downtown Atlanta.

The Atlanta Track Club is a non-profit organization established to inspire and engage the community to achieve health and fitness through running. With close to 10,000 members, the ATC is the second largest running organization in the United States. In addition to the AJC Peachtree Road Race – the largest running race in the U.S. – and the Atlanta Half Marathon and Thanksgiving Day 5K, the Atlanta Track Club directs more than 25 running events per year. For more information on the Atlanta Track Club, visit: atlantatrackclub.org”

Edited to add: I just wanted to mention that I emailed ATC and they confirmed that there will not be a 2010 Atlanta Marathon.