March 14, 2017: Publix Georgia Marathon route and photos

I've lived in Atlanta for nearly two decades, now longer than any other place that I have lived.  Yet before I began running in 2013, there were so many gems in Atlanta that I had not seen, or had not noticed when passing in an automobile.  In the past four years, I've enjoyed getting to know metro Atlanta from the many miles covered on foot.  These experiences have given me a strong sense of ownership of the city and pride in the region.  I've fallen in love with Atlanta, my adopted hometown.  

I was really upset when the incoming President claimed that Atlanta, and specifically the 5th Congressional District, including much of the City of Atlanta and several of its closest suburbs, was "in horrible shape and falling apart".  

Atlanta Journal Constitution, January 14, 2017

Since the end of the Great Recession, the economy in many parts of metro Atlanta has been booming.  I won't claim that Atlanta is perfect: there are still some big problems to address.  But the city has made so much progress in many areas since I arrived in 1998.  Metro Atlanta has a bright future, especially if people from all groups continue working together to make our great city even greater! 

Virtually all of the 26.2 miles of the Georgia Marathon route (red loop) runs through the 5th district. 

In preparing for the marathon, I've run every single block of the race route, although never in a single run.
My longest training run this cycle was a 20-miler in early February, taking several short cuts to
skip some of the "hernias" apparent on the race map, above (link here to larger map). 

On the Facebook site for the Georgia Marathon, the race organizers have posted a series of photos, one from each mile of the race.  I've collected them together below:   

As we gather at the start line, we will be able to see the Skyview ferris wheel,
and the Westin Hotel, both landmarks of downtown Atlanta.  

In the past two decades, Georgia State University has grown in prestige.
GSU is also a major contributor to the ongoing renaissance of downtown Atlanta.  

Central Park is at the north end of the Old Fourth Ward, an area of the
City of Atlanta that has undergone considerable transformation
driven in part by the Eastside Beltline walkway. 

Martin Luther King Jr. was born in Atlanta.  He and his father both served as pastors
at Ebenezer Baptist Church, at the corner of Auburn Avenue and Jackson Street.
Rev. King was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964 for his
non-violent leadership of the American civil rights movement.  

Inman Park was Atlanta's first suburb, founded in the late 19th century.
The neighborhood has revived in recent decades and is now one of the nicest
intown neighborhoods in the City of Atlanta.  

Little Five Points covers a few blocks of a delightfully funky part of Atlanta,
on the border between Fulton and DeKalb counties.   

Our 39th President Jimmy Carter built his presidential library in Atlanta.
In 2002, President Carter received the Nobel Peace Prize to honor the Carter Center's
work "to find peaceful solutions to international conflicts, to advance democracy
and human rights, and to promote economic and social development."

Manuel's Tavern is a popular pub and restaurant at the corner of North Avenue and
North Highland Avenue.  Famous in the 20th century as a meeting place
 for DeKalb County politicians, Manuel's also marks the point
where the half-marathon and full-marathon routes will diverge. 

Candler Park marks the eastern edge of the City of Atlanta.
One of my favorite restaurants, the Flying Biscuit Cafe,
opened its first location at the corner of McClendon Avenue and Clifton Road.  

The race briefly runs east on Ponce De Leon Avenue, the main east-west street
linking the downtown areas of Atlanta and Decatur.
This mile will be memorable as we run past the Cator-Woolford Gardens,
the beautiful location where Bonnie and I married in 2010.  

East Lake Road is a less traveled route into the City of Decatur.  Although
we won't run much further to the south, East Lake Road continues to the
East Lake Golf Club, the home of the PGA Tour Championship.    

As we enter the City of Decatur, the Thankful Baptist Church is a landmark
in the Oakhurst neighborhood.  A few decades ago, this neighborhood was quite distressed,
but has since become a thriving residential neighborhood.  Many of the Thursday evening runs
with the Big Peach Running Company - Decatur explore the Oakhurst neighborhood.

The second of four of metro Atlanta's college campuses on the marathon route is
Agnes Scott College.  This renowned women's college lies just south of downtown Decatur.
The 13.1 mile mark lies on Ponce De Leon Avenue near Decatur Square, a popular restaurant
and entertainment district adjacent to the DeKalb County Courthouse.
Our first date was at the Brickstore Pub on Decatur Square. 

The YMCA on Clairemont Avenue marks the northern boundary of the
City of Decatur, however the neighborhoods to the north are generally also
considered to be Decatur in community if not in fact.  We also very briefly leave the
5th District, but just for a few blocks. 

After re-entering the 5th District on North Decatur Road, we will run
through the middle of the Emory University campus.  The route will take us
directly past my office and laboratory in the Department of Chemistry. 

We enter my old neighborhood of Druid Hills, where I lived from 1998 - 2007.  
I've run the rolling hills many times on afternoon runs starting at the
Emory campus, however it will be a bigger challenge to tackle these
hills at mile 16 rather than at mile 1, 2, or 3! 

Many people may have first heard of Druid Hills when they watched the
1990 film, "Driving Miss Daisy."  I believe that the mile 17 marker is in the
same block as the house used in the film.  

This part of the race route passes within a couple of blocks of my old home.
Druid Hills is said to be one of the most memorable parts of the race route,
whether it's from the beautiful spring blooms or
the suffering that many runners experience in the hills!

The By Way runs for a few blocks through the center of Druid Hills,
roughly in an east-west direction.  I've only run this
block on a couple of occasions, as this street has no sidewalks.  

We will leave Druid Hills, returning into the City of Atlanta, only to be greeted
by a rather steep hill on Stillwood Drive.  This turns into Los Angeles Avenue,
which will take us through the heart of the Virginia-Highland neighborhood.
Highland Avenue is quite accurately named. 

Shortly after the mile 21 marker, we will rejoin the half-marathon route,
although our paths will diverge again upon entering Piedmont Park.
This photo shows the Park Avenue bridge, which is one of my favorite parts
of the half-marathon route (mile 9), with several fun and enthusiastic
 cheering groups.  I hope that I will enjoy it just as much after 21 miles!

The half-marathon route exits Piedmont Park to the south,
at the Charles Allen entrance, which marks the finish line
of the 10K Peachtree Road Race on Independence Day.
The full-marathon exits to the west, onto 12th Street.
The beautiful gate obscures the view of the toughest uphill section of the route.
Thank goodness the 12th Street challenge is only one long block!

This particular Publix grocery store is actually well past the mile 23 marker,
on Spring Street.  My goal is to conserve enough energy so that I can begin to
speed up a bit in this section.  Less than 5K to the finish line! 

We will enter the Georgia Tech campus near the mile 24 marker, rejoining the
half-marathon route for the remainder of the race.  The photo is inside Bobby Dodd
 stadium at the corner of North Avenue and Techwood Drive.
I attended my first sports event at Georgia Tech earlier this month,
the inaugural game of Atlanta's new Major League Soccer team, Atlanta United.
Atlanta United will join the NFL Atlanta Falcons team in the new
Mercedes-Benz stadium, which will open near downtown Atlanta in July. 

The College Football Hall of Fame opened in downtown Atlanta in 2014.
It's actually near the 26 mile marker.  By this point, we will have run on a gentle
but steady uphill for more than a mile, on Marietta Street.  In 2015, I ran my first
negative-split half marathon and finished strongly despite the long uphill finish.
In 2016, I had started the race more quickly, and struggled in the last mile, although
I managed to improve my course time by 3 minutes.  Let's hope that I conserve
enough energy in the marathon to enjoy this final stretch! 

The half- and full-marathon races will end in Centennial Olympic Park,
less than a block from where both races will begin shortly after 7 am.  The Park was built
in downtown Atlanta for the 1996 Olympics, and has become one of the most popular
gathering spots in metro Atlanta.  The World of Coca-Cola, the Georgia Aquarium,
and the Center for Civil and Human Rights are located on the north side of the Park.