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.