Geraint Davies crosses the finish line to win the 2018 Thanksgiving Day Half Marathon at Georgia State Stadium

On a brisk holiday morning, more than 11,000 runners, walkers and volunteers kicked off their Thanksgiving festivities by participating in the Invesco QQQ Thanksgiving Day Half Marathon, 5K and Blue Cross Blue Shield of Georgia One Mile & 50-Meter Dash. The celebration culminated with a brand new exciting finish line on the football field inside Georgia State Stadium near downtown Atlanta with family and friends cheering on loved ones from the stands. The event has become a tradition for many including half marathon winner Geraint Davies. Now a resident of Boston, Davies, 28, graduated from Emory University and returned to Atlanta for the holiday to run the race and see his parents. Davies broke the finisher tape in 1 hour, 12 minutes and 23 seconds. No stranger to today’s event, this marks Davies third Thanksgiving win in Atlanta. He last won the race in 2015. But this is his first finishing on the Georgia State Stadium field. “It was new and exciting,” he said in a news release. “Now the event combines two of my favorite things for the holiday; football and turkey.” On the women’s side, Grace Tavani, 22, took first, breaking the tape in 1:22:59. Tavani, currently a University of Georgia cross country runner said she was optimistic as she stood on the starting line this morning.

posted Thursday November 22nd