"Last year's inaugural marathon was my first full marathon, and I was pretty nervous. But within the first few minutes of the race, I had found four of my Chattanooga Track Club running buddies. We decided to stick together and do a run / walk method of 10 minutes running, 1 minute walking. I hadn't trained that way, so I was worried I wouldn't do well. Plus I disliked the idea of walking during the beginning of the race. But I'm so glad I followed the advice of my experienced running friends! We had a blast running together, and I felt strong the whole race, finishing well under my goal of 4:59:59. The five of us ladies had separated a little towards the end of the race, but we all gathered for a celebratory picture at the finish line. In the picture we all look so happy, we didn't even look like we'd just run a marathon!" - Ambassador Hannah Blanton