Waffle House Gets Marathon Winner as Spokeswoman

by Alex Van Buren, Posted Jul 2nd 2009 @ 5:00PM

This way to the Waffle House. Photo: Shana Lee, Flickr

The key to winning marathons might just be a stop at the Waffle House, if 1978 Boston Marathon winner Gayle Barron is to be believed. According to this Atlanta Journal-Constitution piece, the Atlanta woman discovered the chain best known for its fluffy waffles and late hours a decade ago after a session with her running group. WaHo, as it is known to devotees, discovered Barron's fandom and declared her their spokeswoman. She touts the tastiness and energy boost of her thrice-weekly fix of grilled chicken, hash browns and scrambled eggs.

A member of the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame, Barron has won the Atlanta marathon five times and still runs 15 to 20 miles per week. And though a stickler might note these runs are not, er, waffle-powered (a nutritionist notes Barron's meal is heavy in protein), some might say this is a pleasant contrast to hardcore athletes who consume raw egg milkshakes and dry, so-called performance bars. Pass the syrup.

[Via Atlanta Journal-Constitution]

Filed Under: Food News
Tags: boston marathon, BostonMarathon, gayle barron, GayleBarron, georgia, waffle house, WaffleHouse, waffles

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Reader comments (Page 2 of 2)

7-06-2009 @10:34AM Blaquestarr said... i LOVE Waffle House! I've never heard it being called WaHo, though (lol @ random "journalist"). Much like Monstar17 said, Waffle Houses are great cheap places to eat, and in the GA (where I was born and raised) it's the spot after dark where you can get some food before hitting the sheets. The Georgia Club at my college in DC even put it's logo on our club t-shirts because all 150+ of us knew a TRUE Georgian will hit up a Waffle House before an IHOP 99% of the time. It all depends on which Waffle House you go to, and I have traveled all over the GA and only DON'T go in to eat at a Waffle House if me and my friends (or family) are the only black patrons at the time, which is not usually the case. Now that I'm living up North in the NYC, one of the restuarants I miss the most is the Waffle House! PLEASE COME TO NEW YORK!!
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7-06-2009 @10:42AM Rob said... Clean, Quiet Where did you ever see one like that. Here in NC we refer to these establishments as "THE AWFUL HOUSE" A well deserved name for low quality food and very poor service
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7-06-2009 @10:53AM PH said... LOVE WAFLLE HOUSE!! Love it for the waffles, the has browns, the OJ, the entertainment that walks thru the doors. It's not a 5 star, it is exclusively WAFFLE HOUSE and you can't beat that for breakfast!!
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7-06-2009 @11:44AM Sunshine said... Waffle house is banging, I was a waitress there for 20 years (10 different Locations)Durham NC, Tampa FL, and Ft.Myers FL, By the way we always had a 98 or above sanatation mark,you should always check before eating anywhere, not all resturants are ran the same everywhere!!And by the way I still have my own teeth,and am not an overweight drunk!!If you think it is greasy you can have the hashbrowns,or meats,steamed,you put some ice under the metal dome and skip the oil,and they do serve salads too. As with any resteraunt the food chices you make are your own. Texas Road House has a 72 oz steak, but it doesn't mean you have to eat it. Waffle House is good real food at fair prices, awesome coffee, friendly, personable service.
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7-06-2009 @1:56PM NatGreene said... I have seen both side of this coin. I found the further north you go (and I live in the north) the worse they get. If I had eaten at the one nearest me first, I'd have never gone back...to any of them...and I never will return to that one. There is one in Florida near Altamont Springs that I'd recommend over any "normal" breakfast joint. If you want "Tavern on the Green" go there instead. By the way, hash browns are supposed to be greasy! Oh, and until this article, I'd never heard one called WaHo.
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7-06-2009 @4:02PM tunaman said... As someone else said, devotees call it "The Awful Waffle", not "WaffHo" or whatever.
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7-06-2009 @6:08PM Fr. Joe said... When I lived in Cary, NC, I used to drive or walk up to Waffle House all the time. Yeah, it wasn't the cleanest place around. So what? The food was always excellent -- waffles, pancakes-and-eggs-smothered-in-syrup "sandwich" [made just for me!], steak: didn't matter, never had a bad meal! And the best coffee! Also, the friendliest cooks and waitresses.

Now, if only we could bring that Golden Corral with 200 bins that was there, too, up around here!!!
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7-06-2009 @6:13PM Yoakaholic said... g-string, I work in a building that has many attorneys, and every time I run into this particular female office worker, she reeks of perfume. Doesn't make her a waffle house patron.
Happymama, don't criticize a place when you can't even spell. Sometimes you feel like a great healthy meal, sometimes you want comfort food. If you go to McDonalds, you don't expect to find food like you do at a 4 start steak house. So boycott the Waffle House if you want, but there is absolutely no excuse for bad mouthing those who go there.
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7-07-2009 @10:10AM pd39 said... I've had occasion to eat at WaHo a few times. I've found some to be clean and some not so. I also noticed that every one of them are meeting places for the locals. Food was on par with most Denny's - that is, no matter where in the world you are, if you find one you know exactly what the food will taste like. Those of you who don't like them, you know what! DON'T PATRONIZE THEM!!!! Simple, simple, simple! I've never had a bad meal at one, and their prices are a lot more reasonable than the places you go.
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7-07-2009 @11:01AM grangerknives said... Waffle Haus?
Love them. Haf for forty years!
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7-07-2009 @12:16PM Frankie said... This is so wrong......I worked at a Waffle House 26 years....All tghose girls do in thier spare time is clean clean clean Thier motto is If you have time to lean You have time to clean . The only time it might have looked " nasty " is when we were swamped but after the rushes we were always cleaning !!!!!! That goes to show people dont know what they are talking about !!!
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7-07-2009 @1:41PM Donnaewi1 said... I live in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and the nearest Waffle House that I can make it to for fast, clean and fresh food is in St. Louis, MO. near the airport. That is a 5 hour drive for me. I began taking that trip with my father when I was 14 yrs old just for a waffle. Now my husband and I as well as my 2 grown children will make a weekend out of driving for a waffle. My favorite is also the grilled chicken breast, scrambled eggs, hashbrowns (scattered, covered & chunked) & a waffle. It's ok to do every now & then but I don't know about 3 times/week. I have also been to Waffle Houses in Atlanta, Augusta, Indianapolis & Orlando and they have all met our approval. If you are looking for a 3 star restaurant/breakfast - keeping driving but if you are looking for fresh, made to order food stop on in.
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