Mark Townsend - A Dawg the First and Second Time

Mark Townsend’s father used to joke that Mark was “born in a van down by the river” in Marietta, GA. Mark was the youngest of three sons born to a career Air Force father.  The family, in typical military assignment rotations, moved to new assignments in Beaver Creek, Ohio, Washington DC and Warner Robbins, GA prior to retiring in Watkinsville, GA.  Mark graduated from Oconee High School and continued his education with a degree from Athens Tech in Radiography, and enrolled at the University of Georgia (UGA).    

Mark prior to his weight loseMark began his vocational career working for an independent grocer in Athens, and with higher aspirations moved to Chicago, IL in 1991 where he found employment with the Chicago Mercantile Exchange.  Mark worked on the exchange assisting brokers in floor trading for the next fifteen years.

Mark returned to his Watkinsville roots in 2006 to begin what he termed as his “second educational run”.  He attended Athens Tech and eventually again UGA.  Mark graduated from UGA in 2014 with a degree in Financial Planning and since has worked as a financial planner and day trader in the Watkinsville-Athens area.  His legacy upon graduation was cemented as the third generation (grandfather, father, and a brother) in his family to graduate from UGA.  Mark stated his UGA matriculation “started with Herschel Walker and took thirty-four years to graduate”.  Mark is a big UGA fan and a proud member of the “Dawg House Crew”, having attended home football games for forty-three years.  Mark came close to being a UGA undergraduate student when the football team could have achieved two national titles.  He was on campus in 1980 and when the dawgs were one incomplete pass short of defeating the University of Alabama in 2012 that would have given the football team two national titles during his undergraduate tenure.  Mark and Bob Slowpants both believe this record would have stood for some time.  But hopefully Kirby Smart can get that job done.  Mark’s thirty-four year to graduate tenure is currently threatened by legendary UGA kicker Kevin Butler, who has returned in 2016 to complete his undergraduate degree.        

Mark started to run in March of 2010 to complete his weight reduction goal and to lower his blood pressure.  Mark termed himself as “the fat guy that got off the couch and started to run just like Forest Gump but didn’t make it across country but was happy to just make it to end of the street”.  Running contributed to Mark shedding forty pounds.  He recalls running his first 10K race wearing too many shirts.  Not being experienced to know that runners shed clothes on the race course to be retrieved later, he recalls “ended up tying a shirt around my waist to finish the race so much for trying not to look like a first timer”.  Mark ran a couple of races after that and discovered the Black Bag Race series in 2011, participating in many series races since then.  Currently Mark is in first place in the 50-54 age group in the Black Bag and Run and See Georgia Race series, and second place in the Clover Glove Race series.  

As opposed to identifying a favorite race, he would “like to give a thank you to the organizations, race directors, volunteers, and law enforcement that make every race safe, fun, and, successful”.  On second thought, his favorite race is one that serves post-race pizza!        

Bob checking out from the back of the pack.  Watch for the profile of Heather Sloan, and profile of Milledgeville’s Tom Linski.