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ING Georgia Marathon
Volunteer for the Marathon
The ING Georgia Marathon will be coming through the City of Decatur on Sunday morning, March 21st and we would love to have you participate! As the marathon organizers say “Volunteers are the heart and SOLE of the marathon”.
Volunteers are needed to staff one of two Hydration Stations in the City of Decatur, one at the East Lake MARTA Station and one in downtown Decatur. Volunteers will have a lot of fun handing out water to the runners and cheering them on. To volunteer at one of the Hydration Stations go to http://www.doitsports.com/volunteer/join-protected-group.tcl?event_id=174848. Choose either City of Decatur (for the station on Clairemont by the Holiday Inn) or City of Decatur/Oakhurst (for the station at near the East Lake MARTA station).The password is COD.
Most importantly, Decaturites are needed to come to the official cheering station on Ponce de Leon adjacent to the Old Courthouse Square on Sunday morning at 7:30am to help cheer the runners on.
In 2007, the City of Decatur won $10,000 for the Best Cheering Station and in 2008 we won $5,000 for the second best station. We want to reclaim our #1 title, so come out with a noise maker, signage, and/or a musical instrument. Let’s make noise so the runners remember our city. Runners are going to vote for their favorite Hydration Stations and their favorite Cheering Section so we want them to remember us! Prize money will go towards the city's new walking program, "Walk There, Decatur!"
For more information on the marathon, email Cheryl Burnette or call 678-553-6573.
Helpful Links
>Marathon Route Map (PDF)
>Street Closings (PDF)
>Driving Directions to Decatur Churches (MS Word)
Calling All Would-be Poets for the 2009 Marathon
The ING Marathon is scheduled for Sunday, March 29, and will once again travel through Decatur. The first year Decatur won first place for the best cheering section and a donation of $10,000 to youth sports programs. The second year Decatur won second place and a donation of $5,000 to youth programs.
Part of our effort both years included a series of “Burma Shave” signs posted along the route to cheer on the runners. These signs were based on the popular advertising signs for Burma Shave cream that were posted along highways in the 1950s.
We expanded the effort last year and want to continue the expansion again in 2009 but we need your help. Submit your ideas for Burma Shave rhymes. Winners will receive a special prize and their signs will be posted. If you want to make your own series of signs and hold them along the route, we encourage you to do so.
Let’s continue to give the runners something fun to read and think about as they struggle up the hills in Decatur.
Each line is printed on an individual sign and the last sign always has one word – Decatur! The signs are spaced so that the entire rhyme is revealed over several hundred feet. The feedback we have received from runners has been positive and they say they love running through Decatur, seeing the cheering crowds and reading the great signs.
Email your suggestions to Lyn Menne. Let’s see if we can win again and help our youth with sports and active living initiatives.
2008 Recap
Thanks to strong community support and participation, Decatur won second place in the ING cheering section competition. The $5,000 check goes to the Decatur Education Foundation and will be used by the Athletic Booster Club and Carter Wilson for sports and fitness programs for Decatur students.
This is the second year for the ING Marathon and Decatur folks turned out in droves. In addition to those who helped cheer the runners at the official cheering section, more than 100 volunteers helped staff Decatur’s two official hydration stations.
We also doubled the amount of Burma Shave signs placed on the route through Decatur. Plenty of folks gathered along the way – including in front of both the Methodist and Baptist churches – to provide a continuous cheering section all the way through Decatur.
Congratulations to Agnes Scott College, which staffed a hydration station on the Agnes Scott campus. They won the College Challenge and $2,500 to be donated to the charity of their choice.
We are proud to be on the official route of the ING Marathon and look forward to participating again next year.
2008 ING Marathon
Sunday, March 30
Make plans now to be a part of the cheering section or the hydration stations for the ING Georgia Marathon. A portion of the race will come through Decatur.
Interested volunteers should visit the ING Georgia Marathon website or click here to sign up with one of the Decatur Groups.*
*A password is needed to sign up. For the City of Decatur/Oakhurst and the City of Decatur hydration stations, the password is cod. For the Agnes Scott hydration station, the password is asc. Passwords should be typed in lower case letters.
Street Closings
A number of streets in Decatur will be partially or fully closed for a couple of hours on Sunday morning during the race. For a detailed route, visit www.inggeorgiamarathon.com.
| Street |
Lanes for Runners |
Closed |
Open |
| W. College Ave. |
1-2 Lanes on left side of road against traffic |
7:40 a.m. |
11:04 a.m. |
| Agnes Scott Loop Rd. |
Entire Road |
7:50 a.m. |
11:04 a.m. |
| E. College Ave. |
1-2 Lanes on left side of road against traffic |
7:50 a.m. |
11:04 a.m. |
| Commerce Dr. |
1 Lane on left side of road against traffic |
7:50 a.m. |
11:04 a.m. |
| E. Ponce de Leon Ave. |
1 Lane on right side of road with traffic |
7:50 a.m. |
11:21 a.m. |
| Clairemont Ave. |
1 Lane on right side of road with normal traffic |
7:55 a.m. |
11:21 a.m. |
>Decatur ING Marathon map (PDF)
2007 ING Marathon
The March 2007 event drew enthusiastic support from the Decatur community.
>Click for photo highlights
 Decatur Wins ING Cheering Prize
Thanks to our community’s outstanding participation in the ING Georgia Marathon cheering sections in March, the city of Decatur won first place – $10,000. Many thanks to all who came out in orange to cheer the runners along the route, and to those who brought instruments, music, signs, doughnuts, and more!
ING requires that the money go to a non-profit organization to support sports and fitness programs. Decatur will give the check to the Decatur Education Foundation to use to support the good work of Athletic Director Carter Wilson and the Decatur Bulldog Athletic Booster Club. The money will fund a wide variety of athletic team costs at Decatur High School and Renfroe Middle School that cannot be paid for with public dollars.
This was a great inaugural event and we look forward to participating again next year.
Marathon Highlights
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The cheering section at Avery Street and E. College Avenue
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The cheering section on Commerce Drive
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Elite runners are cheered along
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A runner high-fives the cheering section
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Enthusiastic supporters go all out in orange
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An impromptu pep band makes some noise
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The volume of runners begins to pick up
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Mr. Incredible tempers his pace
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More runners high-five the cheering section
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Mayor Bill Floyd greets the runners
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A pack of runners heads up Commerce Drive
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Runners stream down E. Ponce de Leon Avenue
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Runners head toward the downtown cheering section
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Runners approach the downtown square
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A pack of runners on Ponce
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Chatting on the run
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The cheering section awaits a pack of runners
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Runners head north on Clairemont Avenue
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