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!

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.

A few weeks ago I started training for the 2008 ING Georgia Marathon, which will take place on March 30. On their website, they have posted the new route, which is similar to the 2007 route, but has a few changes, especially in Midtown and Downtown Atlanta. In my training so far, I've run some of the new sections. I list my thoughts on the changes below.

• The start/finish area is moved to Centennial Olympic Park instead of Five Points. I think this will be better: runners and spectators will be able to spread out more. Also, the area around the park has experienced a lot of growth in the last few years, with the aquarium, the new World of Coca Cola, and improvements on Marietta Street.
• The starting line is on Marietta St. between Andrew Young International Blvd. and Centennial Olympic Park Dr. (or for you old timers, between International and Techwood -- why does Atlanta insist on renaming streets to ridiculously-long names?). The course heads southeast on Marietta, turns east on Edgewood, turns north on Piedmont, and then turns east on Baker.
• From Piedmont & Baker, the course looks the same as 2007 until you get close to the Virginia-Highland neighborhood (mile 20-ish?). That means that they have left things in that I wish they would change, namely, all the switchbacks in Druid Hills! I wish instead that they would have extended the course further east, maybe into Avondale Estates. They also kept the out-and-back portion on Freedom Parkway, which many of my friends hated last year. That part did not bother me so much, and I understand why they are keeping it: it's a convenient place to set up aid stations, bleachers, stages, or anything else.
• After Freedom Parkway, the course turns east on North Ave. instead of Ponce de Leon, and then turns north on Highland. That may make it a little easier--at least, there are fewer turns in that section of the course compared to last year. The course continues on the same route as 2007 through Virginia-Highland to Piedmont Park.
• After exiting Piedmont Park on 10th Street, the course turns south on Juniper Street instead of going north on Piedmont. I will not miss last year's hill up Piedmont and continuing up 14th Street.
• Peachtree Street is no longer part of the course (other than to cross it). The only thing I will miss about that is running by the Fox Theatre: it made a great photograph!
• The Georgia Tech campus is now part of the route. From Juniper, the course turns west on 5th Street, going through Technology Square, across the interstate on the new 5th Street bridge/park, turning south on Techwood past the stadium, turning west on North Ave., then north/west on Tech Parkway, to Means St., and back to Marietta Street southbound, which will be roughly the 25 mile marker. It's nice that Tech is added to the course, but I've run this section a few times on my training runs: starting at Techwood, the course is basically a long, gradual, uphill climb, all the way to Means St. This is roughly 1 mile of almost continuous uphill climbing, and what makes it worse is that it is in the 24-25th mile of the course.
• The finish line is on Baker Street, just west of Marietta Street. From Means Street, the course heads south on Marietta Street, turning left on Baker Street to the finish. This final mile of the course is mostly flat (for Atlanta), with the last few hundred yards to the finish line actually downhill.

Overall, even with the changes or lack of them, this is still a great course, and I am looking forward to the race. I really enjoyed running it last year, despite the inaugural difficulties with water stations (which will be corrected, according to Jenny Schmitt, public relations coordinator for this year's race). In my training, I intend to run through the Georgia Tech portion of the course as many times as possible so that I can be prepared for it. My 15-mile run last Saturday included it, as will my 17-mile run tomorrow.

I recently received an e-mail from Jenny Schmitt, one of the public relations coordinators for this year's ING Georgia Marathon. In it she addresses some of the concerns I raised about the 2007 race. The full version of this article contains the text of her e-mail.

Jenny writes:

I realize this is PR and should be read as such, but it is nice to know that the ING coordinators are aware of last year's problems and intend to do something about it.