Donna Presley was born and raised in Clayton, GA and attended Rabun County High School. Her father had a service station in Clayton while Donna and her younger sister were attended to by their stay at home mom. An exciting Saturday night was going down to the service station and jumping on the hose that ran from the pumps to the station until the bell would ring for service. Donna graduated from Truett McConnell University with a B.A degree in fine arts. Clayton offered few job prospects other than moonshine running, but nearby Toccoa did have an Oxford Industries manufacturing plant that was seeking administrative help. Donna soon was attracted to, and forty-nine years ago married, a young man named Tony Presley who worked at Oxford in the distribution center. Donna later changed employment, moving to a firm that was purchased by Standard Register which produced printed duplicate business forms. Her position at Standard Register was in Graphic Arts. Tony became a high school Chemistry and Physics Teacher.
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Donna with her awardsDonna is better known as a premier female runner from age forty to her present 70-74 age group. She has for years, consistently placed in area Run and See Georgia Grand Prix series as well as Black Bag Race Series races. A check of Georgia-roadracerecords.com discloses that Donna holds the state record for female ages 45-49, 60-64, and 65-69 in five distance categories. A 2014 article in the Senior Times ranks Donna second in her age group nationally. Among her personal records are an 18:51 5K, a 40:15 10K, and a 3:20:28 marathon. Donna’s consistency is apparent with her Georgia State record in age group 65-69 with a 22:26 5K time and a 46:26 10K mark.
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Donna and TonyDonna and Tony Presley were an award-winning running combo until a 1988 bout Tony suffered with non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma and required a subsequent bone marrow transplant for cancer. Tony, now cancer free, cheers Donna and helps her prepare for races. Tony was the first of the pair to begin running in 1978 with Donna later feeding off Tony’s enthusiasm for the sport. Donna admits that if it were not for Tony’s running she would never have become involved in competitive running. Neither considered themselves particularly athletic, but both had the self-discipline and drive to excel. The Presley’s were the fastest husband-wife duo in the Huntsville, AL Rocket City Marathon for two straight years. A Senior Times article in 2014 describes the pair running twenty-six to twenty-eight miles in marathon preparation, and on one occasion Donna covered thirty-two miles. Tony has run seventeen marathons prior to his health complications and Donna six.
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Donna's 10K state recordDonna’s favorite races include the above-mentioned Rocket City Marathon and the Red-Carpet Half Marathon in Dalton, GA. Her 10K favorites include the Marigold 10K and the Hartwell Dam Run 10K. Her favorite 5K races are the Chris Gault 5K in Gainesville, and Pounding for Paws 5K in Arcade near Jefferson, GA. She also lists the Carpet Capital 10 Miler in Dalton as a favorite.
They both enjoy hiking in the local Old Folks Hiking Club of Toccoa, and volunteering their time assisting at the Toccoa Soup Kitchen and with the Toccoa Stephens County Humane Society. When not on her feet either running or hiking, Donna enjoys gardening and reading.
Bob checking out from the back of the pack. Watch for the profile of Jim Merritt, and of Columbus runner Jackie Phillips.