Calhoun resident has run more than 300 marathons, won numerous medals
George Southgate has run more miles in his lifetime than many people have driven.
The 70-year-old Calhoun resident is an avid and extremely active runner and has been for a long time. He has completed 329 marathons in his lifetime and more than 1,740 runs total. Southgate has completed a marathon in all 50 states, and at 70, he still ranks in the top 100 in North America.
Southgate grew up in West Palm Beach, Fla. before attending college at Clemson where he met his wife Linda. He has been the Missionary Director for Gospel Ministries to Children for more than 42 years in Calhoun, a ministry that is supported by donation from churches and individuals in the area.
Southgate and his wife Linda have two children, a daughter, Shelley, who lives in Calhoun and works at Dr. Joseph Joyave’s office, and a son, Andy, who lives in St. Petersburg, Fla. and most recently worked as sports director on a cruise ship.
Southgate, his wife Linda, and daughter Shelley and her family all attend Bethesda Baptist Church in Calhoun.
Southgate has created a lifetime of memories as a runner all across the country and continues pursuing his passion to this day. Here is his tale of a lifetime of running and the memories he’s made:
A marathoner gets two typical questions. The first one is, “Did you win?” If you have been to a run, whether a 5k or a marathon, whether there are 50 or thousands of runners, only a handful there even consider a chance of winning.
The second question is, “What is your favorite marathon?” Well, that is like asking a youngster to name his favorite ride at Disneyworld. He likes them all.
Several years ago, Doug Hawley asked me to speak to the Carpet Capitol running club in Dalton. It was after the high school cross coun- try season was over. They invite all the areas teams to their meeting. They wanted me to tell the young runners that running does not end after high school.
They invited an old man, in his sixties, who runs marathons to talk about running. He could go a lot longer than any preacher.
They were shown medals, awards and shirts. Along with a few stories about each.
Every marathon gives a shirt and a medal. My wife’s favorite shirt came from the Junkyard jog, in Athens. It was at the landfill. The directions said to turn where you see the buzzards circling. The dark brown shirt says, Run you old buzzard.
Dallas, Tex. and Little Rock, Ark. battle for the biggest and heaviest medals. Two of my favorite include the full size spur from Sandhills, Neb., and a small two inch balsa wood, hand painted medal. It was painted individually by a ‘ special needs’ youngster, in Mobile, Ala.
There are runs for United Way, American Cancer Society, Brain Tumor, and many other worthy organizations.
A prized shirt is one of the early Peachtree T-shirts. In the beginning you had to run the 10k in less than 55 minutes to get the shirt. That made it a badge of honor.
My first experience with running, came with the encouragement of Coach Lynn Walter. I started going to runs with he and his cross country team during the summer.
Then after going to meets to watch his team, the bug hit. Later my daughter, Shelley started cross country under the coaching of Judy Peterson. Later our son, Andy, followed. This year was the 27th for GC, and my 27th year of attending their meets.
This year is number five in the Space Coast series in Cocoa Beach, Fla. Each of the medals commemorates one of the five shuttles. Later in the year is the Rocket City marathon in Huntsville, Ala. It is a special sight as you run UNDER a space rocket.
Last month was the Mississippi River marathon in Greenville, MS. It is a spectacular view of that great river.
Other special places to run include Kentucky Derby marathon as you run down the tunnel to the track at Churchill Downs. The Talladega half marathon on the track, and through the tunnel to the pits. The Charlotte Speedway half marathon where you run the track and the dragstrip next to it. In Daytona, you run the track, and to the beach and back.
Georgia has the Run and See series to help you see the state. The series was won by Roger Keel for 18 of 20 years. Keon Lee of Rome, and George Southgate Calhoun were the culprits to interrupt his streak. This series is the best Grand Prix in the nation.
Georgia also has the Black Bag series, and the Clover Glove series.
On the National scene, are the 50 States club, the Marathon maniacs, the Run if fast club, the Team 4:13, and the RWB (Red White and Blue to honor the soldiers).
There are recognition shirts for 100 marathons. And now there is a Mega marathon club for those over 300 marathons. There are 120 members in North America.
And there is a worldwide listing for those over 300, plus a Globetrotter club for those with over 5 countries completed.
Locally Bill Moore has been the star until knee trouble has sidelined him. He won a number of runs, and was Masters runner (over 40) in many others. Also running marathons with Southgate, was Dr. Dan Schwanbeck from Adairsville. They ran over 25 marathons together.
During the Hatfield McCoy marathon, runners were invited to tell where they were from. You may hear sounds like welcome Yankee! But you did not want to hear a gun shot, and someone yell Revenuer.
And of course there are a signs galore. In Kenosha, Wisc. a sign read, I trained six weeks to make this sign. But my all-time favorite was in Montgomery, Ala. It said, at mile 25, prepare for the wonderful feeling of awesome. In January my shirt was a controversial banner. I wore my Clemson National Championship shirt at the Gulf Shores, Ala. Marathon. Run- ning and marathoning show that in a T-shirt and shorts, everybody is equal. Nobody cares about your position, your money, or your fame. Everybody is cheered. From the speedster that finishes first to that 350 pound lady that took what seemed like forever to finish. In fact, she got more cheers than anybody.
The most common story is I have lost 50 pounds, or 70 pounds, or even a hundred pounds. My friend, Tom lost over 200. But everybody feels better after some running.
A PR ( personal record), or placing in age group is always more fun. But the best feeling for a marathoner is helping a newbie (first time marathoner) struggle and make it to the finish.
Everything starts with Run & See Georgia, and can expand to seeing the 50 states, to seeing more places in the 50 states. My friend, Jerry (not a runner) and I have seen many great places, and met many wonderful people across this beautiful country that God has made. Now that my wife has retired, she is now able to also enjoy some of the pleasures also.
For a taste of running, I recommend the movie Macfarland. You will get a glimpse of what running can do for an individual, a family, and a community. Maybe these thoughts will encourage you to attend, or volunteer at a local cross country meet, track meet, or charity run.
If you see a Gordon Central meet, you will see our Grandson, Bryce, running. Naturally he is a star.
God has introduced us to many Christians running, watching, and traveling, along the way. It is always encouraging to meet Christians from other parts of the country. We serve a great God. —George Southgate