J. Penny, 26, a former East Tennessee State and high school running star in Johnson City, Tenn., pulled away from the crowd at the first turn of the course and led the entire way Sunday to win the Atlanta Marathon in a time of 2 hours, 39 minutes, 4 seconds. Penny was coming off a victory just more than a month ago in the Bluegrass Half-Marathon in Johnson City, an event he has won three times in four years.

In the women’s race, Malia Mullen of Edgewater, Colo., a triathlete who was born and raised in Hawaii and who was competing in her first full marathon, won in a time of 2:54:52 as almost 3,000 runners and walkers participated in the marathon, the 10-miler, the Marathon 5K and the Kids’ Fun Run.