Troy Garland - Running from Cancer

Troy was born in Milledgeville, GA, the elder of two children born to Brenda and Tommy Garland. His brother Brendan presently resides in the North Georgia Mountains.  He attended John Milledge Academy from kindergarten through the twelfth grade, graduating in 1989. Troy participated in basketball, baseball, and track in middle school and high school.  Unlike Joel Chandler Harris, Troy opted to stay in Milledgeville and continue his education at Georgia College, earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in Information Systems/Communications while working full time as Assistant Manager for the  Sherwin-Williams Company.  Troy was active in Kappa Alpha Order at Georgia College and served as chapter treasurer for several years.

Graduation led to placement with Hanson Aggregates, a firm with mining operations in the continental United States and Europe.  Troy started as a quality control technician at the firm’s Sparta, GA location, progressing to the positions of Area Supervisor of Quality Control and Pit Forman.  Troy continued his post graduate education in the evenings.  He accepted a position with the Coca-Cola Company in 2001 as a Programmer Analyst in the Atlanta area.  When his position was outsourced, Troy returned to Milledgeville to be employed by the Unimin Corporation at their Kaolin mining and processing facility in their McIntyre, GA facility as a shift supervisor.  Troy has persevered and is now the plant superintendent at that location.  

Troy has always led an active life playing tennis and golf in college as well as intramural basketball, softball, and flag football.  He continues to enjoy hunting and fishing mostly on his family’s land in Hancock and Washington counties.  He bought his first motorcycle in 2001; a used Honda Shadow.  After owning several bikes, he now possesses a stable which includes a Harley-Davidson Softail, a Kawasaki KLR (dual sport) and a few dirt bikes.  Troy rides his Harley to Daytona Beach every March for Bike week.  When not running, he enjoys riding his bikes in the North Georgia Mountains with his brother and friends.   He also finds time to serve as a Deacon at Darien Baptist Church in Linton, GA. 

Troy suffered a setback in late 2005 when at the age of thirty-four he was diagnosed with Hodgkin’s Lymphoma.  A minor sinus infection led to the discovery of the cancer.  Fortunately five months of chemotherapy and one month of radiation at the Georgia Cancer Specialist section of the Oconee Regional Medical Center in Milledgeville knocked out the disease.  After seven and half years, Troy is still cancer free.  In 2011 Troy had been steadily gaining weight after recovering from his fight against cancer.  When the scales tipped two hundred and forty pounds, Troy decided to reverse course.  Weight lifting and treadmill running were his initial efforts.

In November 2011 Troy completed the Big Dam 5K in Milledgeville and began to participate in local area races every other weekend.  Running in the Clover Glove Legging It for Lincoln at Rock Eagle in 2012 changed his view of running and led him to kick the treadmill in favor of the outdoors. The Clover Glove Race Series he found was a fun close knit group of runners.  The Twelve days of Christmas series in July 2012 was his first venture in distance beyond a 5K.  It was also his introduction to points racing.  He has found that the Clover Glove, Black Bag, and Run and See Georgia Grand Prix series have been a fun motivational way to keep running exciting.  The other runners he has met have been “a true blessing”. Troy has found the series participants to be a “motivating and caring group”.     

In early 2012 Troy borrowed a bicycle and joined the Georgia College Wellness Center to learn how to swim correctly.  He competed in the Old Capital Sprint Triathlon in May 2012. Triathlon cross training has provided a different component to his level of fitness.  Troy completed his first half marathon at the Athens Half Marathon in the fall of 2012. Later in the fall he participated in the Peachtree City 25K.  He also completed a Tough Mudder event in Tampa, Florida and several Warrior Dash Mud Runs.  Troy comfortably leads the Black Bag Race Series 40-44 age group in 2013 with 747 points, and The Clover Glover Race Series age group with 551 points.  Troy’s goal in 2014 is to complete his first marathon and Ironman.       

Bob checking out from the back of the pack.  Watch for the profiles on Belinda Moon and on Ricky Hayes.