Summary

I ran the Atlanta Marathon on November 27, 2008 (Thanksgiving Day), finishing in 4:26:16, a new PR.  It was my 5th marathon, but first time on this course (though I've ran the Atlanta Half Marathon on the latter half of the course in years past).  This was probably the toughest marathon course I have run, with rolling hills at the beginning and some serious hills in the last 6 miles, so I am very proud that I was able to PR, even though I was short of my 4:15 goal.

Details

Getting to the race

The Atlanta Marathon is actually two races: a marathon (26.2 miles) and a half marathon (13.1 miles).  The marathon course is a loop (sort of), starting and finishing at Turner Field, the site of the former Olympic Stadium.  The half marathon course is point-to-point, starting near the marathon turnaround in Chamblee and finishing at Turner Field.  My wife Sarah ran the half marathon, which started at 7am, so I dropped her off at a MARTA station (Atlanta's transit system) so she could get to the starting line, and then drove to Turner Field.  I got there just after 6, but the marathon would not start until 7:30.  There was plenty of parking, as only approximately 1000 runners ran the marathon, compared to around 10,000 running the half.  It was nice to have the car at the finish line!

At that early hour, there was hardly anyone there yet, other than the volunteers who were setting up.  So I sat in the car, out of the 37-degree cold, and listened to the radio until 7:00.  Then I got out of the car, hit the porta-potties (no waiting!), and then immediately sought the nearest possible place to keep warm until the race start.  The bag check tent was heated, so I hung out there with about 20 others until 7:15, when I heard the national anthem playing, and made my way to the starting line.

The start and the first half of the race

The start was uneventful.  The announcer announced that in less than a minute, the race would start.  But then a few seconds later, we started running!  Oh well, small race.  I was across the starting line in about 1 minute and started heading up Hank Aaron Boulevard, which becomes Capitol Avenue and then Piedmont Avenue.  The sun reflected on the Atlanta skyline, and the view was beautiful during the first few miles.  We stayed on Piedmont for nearly 8 miles, going up and down rolling hills through Downtown, Midtown, and Buckhead, eventually turning right on Peachtree Road and heading toward Chamblee.  The sun had risen, but it was still cold throughout this stretch.  I saw Mari from the Peachtree Tri Club at Piedmont and Sidney Marcus braving the cold to cheer on the marathon runners--thanks Mari!

I think I was at mile 10 or 11 when I saw the race leaders coming back in the other direction.  It was cool to see them!

I was feeling really strong throughout this stretch, maintaining just about a 9:30 pace, which would have me just ahead of my 4:15 finish goal.  I really believed this would be the race that I could maintain my pace for the full 26.2!  But that was not to be.

The second half

We reached the turnaround point in Chamblee, just shy of the halfway point, and turned back south on Peachtree.  I could see all the runners that were behind me coming north on the other side of the street.  In another couple miles, the sag wagon was there, along with a truck picking up cones and directing the runners slower than 5 hour finish pace to the sidewalk (the race had a 5 hour cutoff).  I was glad to be well ahead of them!

Now I was on the familiar half marathon course, taking Peachtree from Chamblee through Brookhaven, Buckhead, Midtown, and Downtown Atlanta.  The temperature had warmed a little, and we were facing the sun, so I was no longer cold.  Through Chamblee, Brookhaven, and Buckhead, this was the easy part of the course: a slight downhill for nearly 8 miles until we reached the famous Cardiac Hill at mile 21.  By then, my hamstrings and quads were feeling tight.  I managed to run up that hill, but that was the nail in the coffin: my hamstrings and quads started protesting, and I started taking walk breaks every few minutes (mostly on the uphills).

The remainder of the course was rolling hills, which was a brutal way to finish the race.  With less than a mile to go, near the state capitol, there is a short, steep hill known as "Capitol Punishment."  I limped up that hill, then turned right on Capitol Avenue, where soon I could see the Olympic rings, beyond which would be the finish line!  A welcome sight!  I ran as much as I could, but my hamstrings and quads kept forcing me to take walk breaks on that stretch.  I was able to run from the rings to the finish line, giving the impression of a strong finish, and hopefully making a good photograph! (That's what matters, right?)  Sarah and her friend Holly were cheering for me at the finish line, and I gave them both a high-five before exerting my last available energy to run across the finish line at 4:26:16!

From the finish line, I hobbled my way to the food station, where I grabbed a banana and a couple Lara bars, but felt too nauseous to eat them.  I got a can of Coke to get some sugar and caffeine in me, handed the car keys to Sarah, and thankfully she drove us home.  I was spent!

Impressions

Overall, this race is definitely an introvert's race.  Running on Thanksgiving morning, there's not a lot of crowd support, although there were a few people cheering here and there, and I appreciated each and every one of them.  I'm used to running solo and using that time as "think time," so the lack of crowd support didn't bother me, but others have said that they wished there could be more crowd support.  Also, the available food at the end of the race was lacking compared to many other, better-supported races.  But they did have some food and drink.  There were plenty of aid stations, and all were well-stocked and well-staffed, so the Atlanta Track Club continues to maintain their strong record of well-organized races.

I would definitely be willing to run this race in the future, though I admit I would be more excited to try something new.

Summary: Thrills, Chills, and Hills

The ING Georgia Marathon was held on Sunday, March 30, 2008, just three weeks after a tornado hit the start/finish line area around Centennial Olympic Park. The fact that this race was still able to occur, despite the tornado damage in downtown Atlanta, is a testament to the organizers: they made the necessary adjustments to ensure the race could happen.

The Thrills: the people who came out to cheer us on, especially: the Agnes Scott College women, the Dekalb Police Department, and the Peachtree Tri Club (including my wife, Sarah) at the last, desolate mile.

The Chills: This year, the weather was cold, cloudy, and breezy. There was rain early, around 5:30 am, but it stopped (thank goodness). The temperature was in the 40s. This was the opposite extreme from last year, where it was sunny, and the temperature soared into the 80s.

The Hills: with the changes in the course, I think this year's race was hillier than last year. The course consisted of continuous, rolling hills, with a break in the middle. However, I won't harp on that: I covered most of the course on my training runs, and I knew what I was getting into.

And now, the details...

The Race Expo at the Georgia Dome

My wife Sarah and I went to the race expo on Friday, March 28. The expo was moved to the Georgia Dome from the Georgia World Congress Center, because the GWCC suffered major damage from the tornado. As we drove down Northside Drive on Friday to the Georgia Dome, we passed the GWCC and saw all the boarded-up windows. The Dome was a good location for the expo: plenty of space, and easy to move about. We found cheap ($5) parking at a lot adjacent to the Dome off of Georgia Dome Drive. The official Georgia Dome lots were charging $8-$10. We got our race packets within minutes of arriving, and we spent a couple hours visiting the exhibitor booths.

Race Day - The Starting Line

The lowlight of the race was the confusion around the starting line area. Much of this problem was probably due to the tornado damage. We took MARTA (Atlanta's transit system) to the Peachtree Center station, a few blocks from the starting line. According to race instructions, we were to walk down International Boulevard toward the starting corrals. However, due to the continuing danger of falling glass from skyscrapers damaged by the tornado, all 15,000 of us were forced onto narrow, sheltered sidewalks, to go down International Boulevard. It created quite a traffic jam.

Once we got to the start area, there were several tents inside Centennial Olympic Park that we could go visit, but only one entrance to the park was open. All the other entrances were chained shut! Why did they do that?

Getting from Centennial Olympic Park to our assigned corral was difficult, because we only had a narrow sidewalk to get there. We had to fight the oncoming flow of people coming to Centennial Park and the gear check area just to get the corral. However, this situation may have been a by-product of the tornado damage: I think they had to move the starting line and starting corrals. I believe the original starting line was to have been in front of CNN Center on Marietta Street. However, that area has been blocked off since the tornado due to extensive damage.

The first 7 miles

At the starting line, I was in corral 6. I could not see the starting line from where I was. It took 15 minutes from the starting gun for us to make our way down International, turn left on Centennial Olympic Park Drive, and cross the starting line. We then turned left on Marietta Street, ran through the Georgia State University complex, then turned left on Piedmont. We ran all the way to North Avenue, turned right, and then right again on Central Park Drive. We took that to Baker-Highland, turned left, and then right on Jackson, crossing the bridge over Freedom Parkway to see the downtown skyline to our west.

From Jackson, we turned left on Auburn Avenue, passed the M.L. King center, turned right on Randolph, and then left on Edgewood. We continued through Inman Park, turning left on Elizabeth Street, then right on Euclid, heading to Little Five Points. From there we turned left on Moreland, left on Freedom Parkway (crossing the 10K point), turning right on North Avenue, and when we reached Moreland again, we reached the point of the half marathon split. The huge mass of half-marathoners kept to the left, while I joined... THE FEW... THE PROUD... THE MARATHON RUNNERS... on the right. I was amazed at how few we were compared to the half marathoners. The half marathoners turned left on Moreland, while we marathoners continued on North Avenue toward Candler Park.

Miles 8-12

From North Avenue, we turned right on Candler Park Drive (up a crazy hill), left on McLendon, left on Clifton, and then right on Ponce de Leon Ave. Then it was on to East Lake Drive, connecting to Dekalb Avenue via a side street, crossing under the railroad tracks, turning left on College Avenue, and heading toward Decatur.

Like last year, College Avenue was one of my favorite parts of the course. There were "Burma-Shave"-style signs with rhyming messages to make us laugh. And, of course, it was one of the few flat stretches of the course. However, better than last year, this time the course took us through Agnes Scott College, an all-women's school. And the women had shown up in full force to cheer us on. It was one of the best cheering sections of the course! (There were three others to come.)

Miles 13-17

From Agnes Scott, we continued down College Avenue, turned left on Commerce Drive, and went into downtown Decatur. We went down Ponce de Leon by the Decatur Square (where we hit the halfway point: 13.1 miles), and turned right on Clairmont Road. There were good pockets of cheering people throughout Decatur, but not nearly as many as last year. The cold weather probably put a damper on that.

From Clairmont, we turned left on North Decatur road, where one of the other best cheering sections was found: a police department (I think it was the Dekalb County Police) staffed the hydration station and cheered us all loudly and exuberantly.

Heading down North Decatur road, all of a sudden, we turned right on a side street, ran about 20 feet, made a U-turn, and turned right again to continue down North Decatur road. What was that all about?

We made it through Emory University and proceeded to my least-favorite part of the course.

Miles 18-20: Dreaded I mean Druid Hills

They call it Druid Hills for a reason. It's a beautiful area--don't get me wrong. It's just that we spend so much time in that area, going south on Lullwater, then north on Oakdale, then south on Springdale: back and forth, up one hill, down, then up and down and up and down again. It's brutal, especially here in wall territory. And this is where I broke down: I was hoping for a 4:15 time and was on track for it, but by mile 18, I had to start taking walk breaks on the uphill portions of the course. My legs were just not willing to carry me up those hills.

Going south on Springdale, we turned right on The By-Way and left on Briarcliff, finally leaving Druid hills and heading for home.

Miles 21-23

This stretch of the course took us Virginia-Highland, one of my favorite neighborhoods in Atlanta. From Briarcliff, we turned right on St. Charles (where my friend Dave stuck his head out his front door and cheered me on), right on Highland through the heart of the neighborhood, left on Virginia, right on Park Drive, and into Piedmont Park. We exited Piedmont Park on 10th Street at Charles Allen.

Miles 24-25

Brutal, brutal hills: west on 10th Street, and then south on Juniper, is basically one big, long uphill stretch, almost 1 mile straight. But then came relief: 5th street was mostly downhill into the Georgia Tech campus. But then we turned south on Techwood and west on North Avenue: once again, a long, uphill stretch (about 1/2 mile). We turned right on Tech Parkway and hit mile 25 at Means Street. We turned left on Means, and left again on Marietta Street.

The desolate home stretch

The last mile was a big disappointment compared to last year. Last year, the last mile was on Peachtree Street, a trademark of Atlanta, lined with shops, hotels, restaurants, and the Fox Theatre. Instead, this year we got Marietta street, with railroad tracks to the west and industrial buildings to the east. There was nobody to cheer, except... The Peachtree Tri Club, which my wife is a part of. It was wonderful to have Sarah and her friends there to cheer me on with 1/2 mile to go. Thanks to these guys, I had the strength to run the rest of the way to the finish line.

The last 0.2 miles--altered by the tornado damage

The original path to the finish line was to have gone down Marietta Street, then left on International Boulevard to the finish line, in the center of Centennial Olympic Park. The finish line was in its intended place, but the path to get there was altered due to the tornado damage: Marietta Street was blocked off in front CNN Center. So instead, we turned left on Baker Street and entered the park from the north side, then zig-zagged through the park to get to International to the finish line. This seemed strange at first, but it created a real incredible moment, running the last few hundred yards through a narrow, zig-zagging chute, with people cheering on either side. As I turned the last corner, I heard over the loudspeaker, "Paul McKibben is in the house!" What a great feeling... I have never heard them announce my name before.

My finish chip time was 4:37:33, a personal best. I really wanted to get that 4:15, but my legs weren't going to let that happen this time. Hopefully next time!

I recently found out about additional route changes to the 2008 ING Georgia Marathon and Half Marathon, as well as a route change for the 2008 Peachtree Road Race.

Changes to the 2008 ING Georgia Marathon Route

The link to the latest ING Georgia Marathon/Half Marathon route map is here. However, their home page does not specify any reasons for the changes. Also, the map says "proposed," so perhaps further changes could be in the works.

A summary of changes since my earlier article:

• First few miles go by Civic Center, Renaissance Park: the starting line remains by Centennial Olympic Park on Marietta Street, and the course turns north on Piedmont as before. However, when heading north on Piedmont, instead of turning east on Baker-Highland, the route instead continues north, turning east on North Avenue. It then turns south on Central Park Place, going past the Central Park/Renaissance Park area and Georgia Power, finally reaching Baker-Highland and turning east there. The route continues as before from there, to Jackson, Auburn Ave., etc.
• Half Marathon breakaway moved, Freedom Parkway out-and-back gone: from Euclid Ave., both the Marathon and Half Marathon now turn north on Moreland, then west on E. Freedom Parkway, north on Freedom Parkway, and east on North Avenue. The Half Marathon turns north on N. Highland, while the Marathon splits away, continuing on North Ave.
• Marathon now goes by Candler Park: from North Ave., the Marathon route turns south on Candler Park Dr., east on McLendon through the Candler Park restaurant district, north on Clifton, and then east on S. Ponce de Leon. From there the route continues as before, down East Lake Dr. to College Ave., toward Agnes Scott College.
• Minor change near Emory: it looks like the route has a short out-and-back on Haygood Dr. Other than that, the route appears unchanged through Emory and (sadly) Druid Hills. I still wish we didn't have those switchbacks through Druid Hills.
• No more Freedom Parkway out-and-back: I already mentioned that for the Half Marathon, but it came later in the race for the full Marathon. Instead, from Briarcliff Road southbound, the route turns west onto St. Charles, then north on Highland, continuing through Virginia-Highland to Piedmont Park as before.
• Last few miles - finish line moved: the route continues on 10th Street, Juniper, and 5th, through Georgia Tech, back to Marietta Street as described in my previous ING article. However, the finish line is now on Andrew Young International in the middle of Centennial Park. I like this much better than finishing on Baker Street.

Peachtree Road Race - Finish Line Moved

The Atlanta Track Club issued a press release (PDF file) yesterday announcing that finish line for the 2008 Peachtree Road Race has been moved to the intersection of Juniper and Ponce de Leon. Some excerpts from the press release:

Atlanta, GA – February, 19, 2008 – Athletes participating in the 39th running of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Peachtree Road Race on July 4th will add one additional turn to their route from previous years to a new finish line at the intersection of Juniper and Ponce de Leon in midtown Atlanta. After crossing the finish line runners will walk one block south on Juniper, turn east on North Avenue for one block and then turn south on Piedmont Avenue to receive their water and t-shirts, then arrive at the Civic Center parking area where the awards stage, family meeting area, and sponsor village will be located.

The AJC Peachtree Road race has traditionally ended in Piedmont Park... However, in January the City of Atlanta announced the suspension of any Class A event (those that attract 50,000 people or more) from city parks, due to effects from the drought. This policy resulted in the need for a new finish line.

The press release emphasizes organizers' hopes that the finish line will return to Piedmont Park in the future, once we recover from the drought. Registration forms for the Peachtree Road Race will be in the Atlanta Journal Constitution on March 16, and online starting March 17.

18+ Miles

Today culminated week 12 (counting backwards) of my ING Georgia Marathon training plan. I ran 18 miles this morning, through Buckhead, Midtown, and Downtown Atlanta. It was a beautiful day for a run: sunny and cool, but not overly cold.

The Tourist Encounter

15 miles into my run, I was in Centennial Olympic Park, when two British tourists stopped me and asked me if I knew of anything interesting to do around Downtown. They didn't have a car, so they were bound to walking and maybe transit. I felt bad: I did not have much to recommend to them. Other than the aquarium and the World of Coke, I could think of very little else within walking distance of Centennial Olympic Park that would be interesting for them. (Later I did realize I could have recommended the Martin Luther King, Jr. Center, though it would have been a bit of a hike from there.) They also asked about any independent restaurants around Downtown, noting (correctly) that the area was dominated by chain restaurants. I could think of a few (Dailey's, Stats, and Pittypat's Porch), but that was it. I recommended that they take the train to Midtown where they'd have more independent options, but they showed me their tourist map, and the north part of the map cut off at North Avenue! Midtown was not even on their map.

It's pretty sad that Downtown Atlanta has so little to offer tourists. It has improved over the last few years, especially near Centennial Olympic Park, but it has a long way to go.

The best long run ever!

Yesterday culminated week 14 of my ING 2008 training plan (counting backwards--next week is week 13, and the week leading up to the marathon is week 1). I ran a little over 17 miles for my Saturday long run. It was probably one of the best long runs I have ever had: I remained strong throughout the entire run, and I didn't feel the need to collapse at the end like I usually do. The only major difference this week is that I have been on vacation and have been getting plenty of sleep. It reminds me that I need to make sleep a priority when things get hectic again.

Something I don't get...

Between miles 9 and 10 of my run yesterday, as I started crossing North Highland, a car pulled up to the intersection and stopped for the red light in front of the crosswalk. There were three people in the car, all probably in their early 20s. The driver was a young man with a round face--clearly overweight. He rolled down his window, looked directly at me, and started laughing, loud and long, while I crossed in front of his car. It was a fake, belabored laugh--perhaps what you would get if you mixed a department store Santa's "Ho Ho Ho" with the laugh of a villain in a cheesy superhero flick.

I was dumbfounded: why would anyone even bother? Here I was, one of several anonymous runners out for a Saturday run, and this guy took the time to roll down his window, look directly at me, open his fat face, and let out a fake belly laugh! Was he trying to impress his companions in the car? If so, they didn't look impressed.

The only reasonable explanation I can think of is that this guy, being overweight and presumably unhealthy, warped, and miserable, believed he would find salvation in putting down healthy people and their healthy lifestyles. It's sad to think about it. It makes me feel sorry for him.

Of course, at the time, my reaction to him was far from sympathetic. At first, I was surprised, not knowing what to make of this strange, bloated creature cackling at me, so I continued running past the front of his car. But then, I got angry. I turned around and walked back toward his car, yelling, "Do you find something funny? Huh?" But a few seconds later, the light changed, and the coward sped away as fast as his little car could carry his oversized body.

But now, I do feel sorry for him, even though I'm still angry too. Surely, to anyone who witnessed the incident, this guy looked like an idiot. I hope that he will eventually mature and see his unhealthy ways as a threat to his life and happiness. Maybe someday, instead of taking his misery and anger out on healthy people, will use that energy toward making himself healthy and happy.

But who am I to judge?

My faith calls me to love my neighbor, and it further reminds me that everyone is my neighbor. But it is not easy when my neighbors include an occasional miscreant like this guy. Incidents like these remind me that I am far from perfect myself. It would be easy to dismiss this incident as another day, another idiot. But instead, it gives me something more to pray about: not for fewer idiots in the world, but for me to have sympathy for all those who are broken, just like me. This guy showed his brokenness by taunting me, and I showed mine by yelling at him.