Record Number of Runners/Walkers Participate in 2017 Atlanta BeltLine Westside 5K

A record number of participants turned out to historic West End Park on Saturday, July 15 for the seventh annual Atlanta BeltLine Westside 5K, presented by Delta Air Lines. More than 900 registered to run/walk their way through the streets of two of Atlanta’s most historic communities: West End and Westview. Part of the course ran along the Atlanta BeltLine’s West End Trail, the first segment of the Atlanta BeltLine to open to the public in 2008. The course was just steps away from the Westside Trail, the newest 3-mile segment of the Atlanta BeltLine, set to open to the public later this year.

“We’re honored to be back at West End Park for the seventh edition of the Westside 5K,” said Atlanta BeltLine Partnership Executive Director Rob Brawner. “We’re thrilled to see so many Atlanta BeltLine supporters out today celebrating the healthy lifestyle that will become even more tangible with the opening of the Westside Trail in just a few months. We want to thank Delta Air Lines and our other generous sponsors for their support of this year’s race.”

It was a great morning for a 5K, and residents from the surrounding neighborhoods came out in full force to cheer on the participants. B98.5 on-air personality and Atlanta BeltLine Partnership Fitness Ambassador Madison James was on hand to lead participants in a pre-race warm-up. District 4 Atlanta City Councilmember Cleta Winslow sounded the starting horn and the runners/walkers were off!

B98.5 on-air personality and Atlanta BeltLine Partnership Fitness Ambassador Madison James was on hand to lead participants in a pre-race warm-up.

District 4 City Councilmember Cleta Winslow blows the horn to start the 2017 Atlanta BeltLine Westside 5K.

In addition to Councilmember Winslow, also on hand to salute participants were Atlanta City Council President and West End resident Ceasar Mitchell; City Councilmembers Keisha Lance Bottoms, Mary Norwood and Joyce Sheperd; Atlanta Public Schools Superintendent Meria Carstarphen; City of Atlanta Chief Resilience Officer Stephanie Stuckey Benfield and West End Neighborhood Association President Stephanie Malinauskis.

Photos

Here are links to Facebook albums of great photos from the Westside 5K taken by photographers from our race partner, FiveStar NTP. More than 1,200 photos are grouped in two albums: the first album has images from registration, the starting line, and general candid shots, while the second album features images from the finish line. Find the ones with you and your friends in them and Share and download away!

You can view the Partnership’s album of event photos here. Check out a short video from the start of the race immediately below. Below that is another short video from the race produced by our friends at KAWW Productions.

Race Results

Men’s overall winner Graham Merfield crossed the Westside 5K finish line first in a time of 18:48.

Following are the race results from the 2017 Westside 5K. Award winners are pictured below with Atlanta City Council President and West End resident Ceasar Mitchell on left and ABP Executive Director Rob Brawner on right.

The top three male/female finishers and their times:

Male

1st – Graham Merfield (18:48)

2nd – Brad Slavens (18:57)

3rd – Jason Timbert (19:34)

Female

1st – Alissa Palladino (21:01)

2nd – Allison Lerer (21:02)

3rd – Bella Reiss (21:29)

Complete race results are available here

Additional Westside 5K winners include:

For the second year in a row, the West End Mavericks won the largest team award.

For the second year in a row, our top individual fundraiser for the 2017 Westside 5K was Ben Sperling (back row, second from right). Second place in individual fundraising went to Stacy Shailendra (front row, far right). The rest of those pictured above (with the exception of Mitchell and Brawner) are members of the top fundraising team, Team Sperling, which also won for the second straight year. 

Fastest Team: Talbot Runners

Race Sponsors 

The Atlanta BeltLine Partnership would like to thank the following partners for their sponsorship of the Westside 5K:

Presenting Sponsor: Delta Air Lines

Gold Level Sponsors: Ponce City Market, Whole Foods Market

Silver Level Sponsors: Astra, Big Peach Running Co., CLIF Bar & Company, Skyline Park at Ponce City Market, VeinInnovations

Bronze Level Sponsors: Atlanta United FC, The Icebox

In Kind Sponsors: The Coca-Cola Company

Thanks also to Mountain High Outfitters and Old Fourth Distillery for providing prizes for our award winners.

Don’t Forget Our Eastside 10K in December!

Thanks again to everyone who came out and helped make our 2017 Atlanta BeltLine Westside 5K such an overwhelming success! We look forward to seeing everyone in December at the Eastside 10K, the final Atlanta BeltLine Run.Walk.Go Race Series event of 2017. You won’t want to miss this great Peachtree Road Race qualifier. If you haven’t signed up already, do so right now here for the early bird price of $40.

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