Troy Dunkley runs to a new record at the Chasing Jefferson Davis Marathon

The Boston Marathon started in 1897 as a race through the Massachusetts countryside commemorating events at the start of the American Revolution. The Chasing Jefferson Davis Marathon started in 2015 as a race through the South Georgia countryside commemorating events at the end of the Civil War. The 123rd Boston Marathon was run on Monday, 15 April 2019. The fifth annual Chasing Jefferson Davis Marathon was run on Saturday, 4 May 2019.


You can consult the Boston Globe for news about the Boston Marathon winners. As for the Georgia race, Troy Dunkley of Jacksonville, Florida won the 2019 Chasing Jefferson Davis Marathon by nearly 700 meters, running a course-record 3:01:05. Dalton, Massachusetts master runner Jennifer Bell was the first woman in the marathon, placing fifth overall in 4:12:56.


No one has cracked three hours yet in the Chasing Jefferson Davis Marathon, but Dunkley came closest. His 3:01:05 clips more than eight minutes off the old Davis Marathon record of 3:09:22, set in the 2016 race by Kerry Hobbs. Master runner Jonathan Ericson also ran faster than Hobbs' record, Ericson was runner-up to Dunkley in 3:04:00. Matt Parks, a Jacksonville master runner, took third in 3:47:33.


Dalton, Massachusetts, the hometown of women's champ Jennifer Bell, is just a two-hour drive from the starting line of the Boston Marathon. In fact, Bell ran 4:03:54 in the 2019 Boston. Kendra Tippens of Winston, Georgia was second to Bell in the women's standings of the Chasing Jefferson Davis Marathon, placing seventh overall in 4:28:54. Fayettville, Georgia master runner Karilena Harwitz was the third woman and fourteenth overall in 5:04:39.


23 athletes finished the 2019 Chasing Jefferson Davis Marathon.


Top Five Men, 2019 Chasing Jefferson Davis Marathon

1. 3:01:05, Troy Dunkley (M, 32) Jacksonville, FL
2. 3:04:00, Jonathan Ericson (M, 41)
3. 3:47:33, Matt Parks (M, 46) Jacksonville, FL
4. 4:08:50, Eric Hartman (M, 39) Saint Petersburg, FL
5. 4:19:11, Paul Oeland (M, 48) Conyers, GA

Top Five Women, 2019 Chasing Jefferson Davis Marathon

1. 4:12:56, Jennifer Bell (F, 53) Dalton, MA
2. 4:28:54, Kendra Tippens (F, 31) Winston, GA
3. 5:04:39, Karilena Harwitz (F, 48) Fayetteville, GA
4. 5:05:50, Susie Lee Leuthold (F, 47) Odessa, FL
5. 5:36:04, Jenny Worthington (F, 41) Cincinnati, OH

At the Boston Marathon there isn't a Half Marathon option, but there is at the Chasing Jefferson Davis race. Score one for Georgia! Score one, also for Edward Ostrander. The Lee County High frosh-year cross-country runner won the Chasing Jefferson Davis Half-Marathon for the second year in a row, covering the 21.1-kilometer course in 1:37:11--more than nine minutes faster than his winning time in 2018. Russell Coleman of Warner Robins, Georgia was the first master runner in the half marathon, placing second overall in 1:43:01.


Bianca Orr, a cross-country runner for the Brenau University's Golden Tigers, was the first woman in the half marathon, coming in third overall in 1:45:32. Tiffany Brantley of Eastman, Georgia was the first woman master in 21.1-kilometer race, finishing fifth overall in 1:55:57.


27 athletes finished the 2019 Chasing Jefferson Davis Half-Marathon.


Top Ten Men, 2019 Chasing Jefferson Davis Half Marathon

1. 1:37:11, Edward Ostrander (M, 15) Leesburg, GA
2. 1:43:01, Russell Coleman (M, 42) Warner Robins, GA
3. 1:45:25, Wes Denney (M, 37) Newnan, GA
4. 1:58:54, Henry Rutherford (M, 41)
5. 1:59:53, John Fetner (M, 70)
6. 2:02:52, Joshua Quay (M, 23) Fort Benning, GA
7. 2:03:39, Ron Crosby (M, 70)
8. 2:11:05, Bob Lushen (M, 34) Newnan, GA
9. 2:14:56, Nick Norwood (M, 45) Cleveland, TN
10. 2:29:59, David Glass (M, 37) Alma, GA

Top Ten Women, 2019 Chasing Jefferson Davis Half Marathon

1. 1:45:32, Bianca Orr (F, 20) Buford, GA
2. 1:55:57, Tiffany Brantley (F, 40) Eastman, GA
3. 1:57:07, Alma Ostrander (F, 13) Leesburg, GA
4. 2:00:28, Nancy Nevarez-Myrick (F, 33) Warner Robins, GA
5. 2:02:43, Kate Norwood (F, 40) Cleveland, TN
6. 2:04:09, Donielle Powell (F, 29)
7. 2:10:02, Alexandra Lowery (F, 27) Milan, GA
8. 2:10:16, Elizabeth Richards (F, 35) North Potomac, MD
9. 2:15:09, Tiffany O'Brien (F, 37) Blackshear, GA
10. 2:20:28, Teresa Ward (F, 43)

The Chasing Jefferson Davis Marathon commemorates the capture of Jefferson Davis by the United States military near Fitzgerald, Georgia in 1865. Run annually from 2015 to 2019, the race has now lasted as long as the Slaveholders' Rebellion of 1861-1865, when Davis was the president of the rebels. Classic Race Services timed the 2019 Chasing Jefferson Davis Marathon and Half Marathon.

Chasing Jefferson Davis Marathon winners, 2015 - 2019
Date	Distance	Men	Women	Finishers
9 May 2015	Marathon	3:14:03, Jack McDermott	4:15:59, Christine Stahl	27
	Half-Marathon	1:34:38, Elder Cobler	1:48:26, Allison Cauthen	15
14 May 2016	Marathon	3:09:22, Kerry Hobbs	3:29:42, Elizabeth Magato	39
	Half-Marathon	1:23:02, Hunter Tucker	1:28:10, Kelli Squires	19
29 April 2017	Marathon	3:10:46, Kevin Sweeny	3:10:25, Suzanne Hutchins	37
	Half-Marathon	1:53:49, Edward Ostrander	2:02:53, Betsy Goslin	15
4 May 2019	Marathon	3:01:05, Troy Dunkley	4:12:56, Jennifer Bell	23
	Half-Marathon	1:37:11, Edward Ostrander	1:45:32, Bianca Orr	27

Links

• Complete results of the 2019 Chasing Jefferson Davis Marathon and Half Marathon
  https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/e/2PACX-1vSOY-Q0eVK5OkAzLRNUra-AWSm_OlWiEvtAzlXn-EYXWpAVDvjpqRe8BWIyi3poX3o7E35pZ8PblyA4/pubhtml
  
  
• 2018 story, “Meredith DeFranco leads a women's charge at the Chasing Jefferson Davis Marathon”
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2018/05/jeff-davis-marathon-2018.html
  
  
• 2017 story, “No one catches Suzanne Hutchins at the Chasing Jefferson Davis Marathon”
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/2017/05/jeff-davis-marathon-2017.html
  
  
• Chasing Jefferson Davis Marathon
  http://chasingjeffersondavis.com/
  
  
• USATF certification map GA15012WC for the 2017 Chasing Jefferson Davis Marathon
  http://www.usatf.org/events/courses/maps/showMap.asp?courseID=GA15012WC
  
  
• Find more historically-themed runs on the Trouble Afoot! racing calendar
  https://troubleafoot.blogspot.com/search/label/calendar?max-results=1
  
  

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