With smoke from the starting cannon heavy in the damp morning air and East Union Street bricks wet and slippery from a steady morning drizzle, the 51st annual Athens Ohio Marathon got off as planned at 8 a.m. Sunday.
About 1,200 runners participated in the event, which in addition to the traditional marathon – 26 miles, 385 yards – offered a half marathon.
The course took runners west on Union Street to Smith, then Byard, then Shafer, then West State Street before they got onto the Hocking Adena Bikeway toward Nelsonville, which made up the majority of the race course.