Community Corner

MUST Gobble Jog Draws Record Number of Participants

Nearly 10,000 runners, joggers and walkers and 200 volunteers filled Marietta Square for the ninth annual Gobble Jog on Thursday.

Abe Owen stood at the finish line of the with other parents to await the runners ages five and under as they completed the Tot Trot run. However, unlike other parents, Owen was was waiting to surprise his two daughters who he had not seen in nearly four months, the Marietta Daily Journal and 11 Alive report.

Owen, a First Lt. Black Hawk helicopter pilot in the Georgia Army National Guard’s 1-171 Aviation Regimen, was deployed to Iraq in February and had not seen his daughters Elle, 6, nor Lily Kate, 3, since July, the MDJ and 11 Allive report.

Nearly 10,000 runners, joggers and walkers and 200 volunteers filled Square for the ninth annual Gobble Jog on Thursday, setting a record number of participants in the event.

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The Gobble Jog includes a 10K, 5K and 1K run/walk as well as the Tot Trot.

Obiandu Igwe, a former runner at , won the 5K with a time of 15:46:71. Igwe now competes in cross country and track field for Georgia Tech.     

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Cara Reilly was the top female finisher in the 5K with a time of 20:15:76.

Nathan O'Connell of Kennesaw finished first in the 10K with a time of 32:23:20.

Suzannah Gill, a Walton High School graduate, was the first female to finish the 10K, the MDJ reports.

All proceeds from the go to , which is celebrating its 40th anniversary, to support meals, clothes, housing options and educational courses. The goal for this year was set at around $300,000.

While MUST does not yet have a total for the funds raised this year, nearly $285,000 was raised in the 2010 Gobble Jog. The 2010 goal was 7,000 participants and $260,000. In 2003, there were approximately 1,400 participants and over $29,000 raised.

is a faith-based organization that, since 1971, has been dedicated to providing services to feed, clothe and assist people living in poverty.


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