ATLANTA — Bill Thorn, a Peachtree Road Race and Georgia high school coaching legend, has died. He was 96.
The Atlanta Track Club announced Thorn’s death on Thursday.
“Bill was a fixture of Atlanta’s running community and a living part of the history of the Peachtree Road Race. To honor Bill, let us carry forward his commitment to showing up year after year, encouraging those around us and embracing the enduring joy of running,” the club wrote in a statement.
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Known as the “Iron Man of the Peachtree,” Thorn ran in the first Peachtree Road Race back in 1970 and competed every year until 2022. Even after he retired, Thorn still crossed the finish line as the grand marshal for the 2023 Peachtree Road Race.
“It’s the fulfillment of competing and completing something,” Thorn told Channel 2 Action News in 2023. “That was nice of them to have me do that.”
Thorn was also a longtime high school football and track coach. He won dozens of state championships and is a member of the Georgia Athletic Coaches Association’s Hall of Fame.
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Thorn spent most of his time at Landmark Christian School in Fairburn, which co-founded in 1989.
The school posted a tribute on its website, saying he laid the foundation and his legacy will carry on for future generations.
“The lessons he taught reached far beyond a practice field or a finish line. Perseverance through difficulty. Discipline when the work was demanding. Commitment to something greater than oneself. These lessons helped prepare his athletes for the responsibilities, challenges, and opportunities of life,” the school said.
Thorn’s other accomplishments include carrying the Olympic Torch twice and publishing “Thorn,” a book about his life.
Landmark Christian School will hold a celebration of life for Thorn at the campus Brickhouse on Sunday, Nov. 1 from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m.
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