John Woodman of Nashville set the pace early in the Viola Valley Half Marathon and did not slow down until he crossed the finish line first on Saturday. He ran his first half marathon of 13.1 miles in 1 hour, 22 minutes, and 43 seconds.
Anne Myers of McMinnville, the first woman to finish the race, wasn’t too far behind him crossing the finish line with a time of 1:39:19.
Viola’s first half marathon drew in approximately 350 runners from 11 states. The youngest runner was 12 years old and the oldest runner was 70.
Local resident Irvin Leroux, moved to this area from Montreal, Canada about six years ago. When asked how he felt about running the half marathon, he said, “I run about 80 miles a week. I live close. This is cool. It is a beautiful course.”
Dr. Terry Connor said he was very tired after running the course, “But at least I’m still able to walk,” he added.
Kevin Deason, one of the organizers, was excited about the number of runners for a first-time event. He said their goal originally was 50 runners, then 100, but the numbers kept growing.
“When we passed 300, we thought we won’t have a cutoff,” said Deason. “Just let them keep coming.”
Deason also noted there were over 100 volunteers. “I cannot say enough about our volunteers and the people helping us,” he said.
Several volunteers were competing with each other for the best water station. The runners voted on the best water station and the winners received $100 for their organization.
Keri Nunley, wife of race director John Nunley, said they started planning this event in September. She said her husband loves to run marathons and thought Viola had some of the most beautiful scenery around.
Spectators were entertained while waiting for their favorite runner to cross the finish line with live bluegrass music playing from the gazebo on Viola Town Square. Local bluegrass bands, as well as featured group Hickory Wind from Woodstock, Ga., performed.

Top 10 men:
John Woodman - 1:22:43
Eric Shull - 1:28:47
Lynn Burnett - 1:34:31
Kory Mueller 1:34:48
Jacob Shelton - 1:35:30
Robert Wesley - 1:36:12
Joshua Smith - 1:38:41
Tommy Kell - 1:40:11
Chris Clemens - 1:41:06
James Zahn 1:42:00

Top 10 women:
Anne Myers - 1:39:19
Lisa Logan - 1:42:21
Tabitha Southern - 1:44:11
Ginny Bond - 1:45:45
Sarah Hoover 1:46:21
Amy Baird - 1:47:41
Ashley Routon - 1:48:14
Brooke Tevrucht - 1:48:14
Andrea Rich - 1:49:42
Gretchen DeMong - 1:49:54