A few minutes after I finished the Hotlanta 5K, Bonnie told me the shocking news that her close friend, Hemanth Digumarthi, had unexpectedly died the day before, after completing a training run for the Peachtree Road Race. Bonnie had worked closely with Hemanth for many years through the Georgia Asian Pacific American Bar Association (GAPABA). I only knew Hemanth socially through various galas and parties, but I remember his kind smile and generous nature. Hemanth also enjoyed running when he found the time between work and service especially to GAPABA, and he would always ask me what I was training for next. Hemanth was only 40 years old when he passed away. We went to the funeral on Wednesday morning June 15. I hope that it was a small consolation to Hemanth's spouse and family that we completely filled the funeral home auditorium, in the middle of a workday. This tragedy reminds me that every day is special, that nothing is guaranteed, and I always try to remember that whenever Bonnie or I leave the house, and when we return to each other.
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| 6:30 am this morning, before we headed to our respective corrals |
With a heavy heart, I pinned the bib onto the back of my singlet this morning. I hoped that I could finish in less than an hour, however with 76 deg F and 89% humidity at the beginning, the Atlanta Track Club was warning runners to be cautious, and so I resolved to take it easy in the beginning, listen to my body and watch my pulse rate, with the main goal to have a good time joining 36,000 other Atlanta runners and walkers in our annual Independence Day celebration. I was in wave D, qualifying with a sub-24 minute 5K race time from late 2019. Before, during, and after the race, I saw other runners wearing the memorial bib. Some of us knew Hemanth through his work or service, others had known him through the Peachtree Road Race training program this spring.
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| In wave D, walking to the start, 7:07 am |
Wave D began at 7:15 am. I held back in my wave, crossing about 45 seconds after the airhorn. I was pleased to see light clouds ahead in the distance, hoping that we would be shaded from the direct sun as the race progressed. I had set my watch to 4:30 run, 0:30 walk intervals, and the place was to run-walk at least to the mile 5 marker. Despite taking it easy and staying close to the right side of the road, I finished mile 1 in 9:49 on the watch, about 10 minutes flat when I actually passed the marker. Mile 2 was 80 feet continuously downhill, so even with two walk breaks, the second mile passed in 8:59. It probably helped that one of the walk breaks coincided with one of the many water stations. Building on my good experience in the Monday Nighter 10K a couple of weeks ago, I was carrying a small bag of ice, even though it was mostly melted by the time that I reached the lowest elevation of the route crossing Peachtree Creek, it felt good to wipe my brow and my lips with the cool towel wrapped around the bag. Along the way, I passed Tina Tait, the creator of the Hemanth bib, and shouted out a thanks to Tina as I passed. Starting up Cardiac Hill, I finished mile 3 at 9:08, and shortly afterwards crossed the 5K timing mat at 29:05 elapsed, on pace for a sub-1-hour finish if I could hold on.
Cardiac Hill was tough as always, and my pulse was about 170 beats per minute, so I took an intermediate walk break for a full minute as I sipped a full cup of water, walking to the crest of the hill. That was a good move, as I was able to get back up to a decent pace on level ground, finishing mile 4 in 9:45, faster than I might have expected. My next walk break coincided with crossing I-85. Heading into Midtown, I took short walk breaks around 42 minutes, then 44:30, then 47 minutes, each time letting my pulse drop to a more sustainable 160 beats per minute before returning to the run. I needed 10:16 for mile 5, 48 minutes elapsed, and while I was 80% done and on pace for a 50 minute finish, I wasn't ready to run straight through to the end. But after 49:30, taking a full minute walk break, I was ready to finish strongly.
I was at Colony Square, just north of 14th Street, when I began to make my final move. I had to press to get over the last little hill on Peachtree Street at 13th Street, then began to take advantage of the gentle drop as I raced past Cafe Intermezzo, then began looking for the left turn at 10th Street. I didn't expect to cut the turn that sharply, but as I was accelerating past other runners, the opening was close to the corner and I dashed through. 1 kilometer to the finish! The watch sounded 54:30 but I didn't slow down this time, because I knew that I could cover the distance from "the corner" to the end in less than 5 minutes if I hustled. I was now flying down the road, crossing the painted stripe for the overhead photographers (looked up and smiled), then through the rainbow intersection at Piedmont Road. The mile 6 alert was just past 57 minutes elapsed, 9:07 despite the long walk break earlier, then I saw the mile 6 sign to the left up ahead. Now 0.22 miles to go. There were a couple of little rollers. It's always deceiving when Piedmont Park comes into view, because it feels like the finish line should be right there, but ... one more little tiny hill, and then I saw the finish line ahead, at 58:30 elapsed. Wow, could I finish under 59 minutes? I put on another burst of acceleration, it seemed like I was passing everybody! As the finish line approached, over the preliminary timing mat that was presumably there for the announcer to pick up the elite runners. I zipped passed a young man on my left, through the finish line, throwing both arms up into the air as I celebrated my strong finish. Official time was 59:02! I put aside a couple of seconds of disappointment at not breaking 59 minutes, remembering that I actually surpassed my sub-one-hour goal by 58 seconds. Most importantly, I finished safely under warm and muggy conditions, and I had fun, especially with my speedy dash on 10th Street.
I saw several other people inside Piedmont Park who were wearing "Running with Hemanth in our hearts" bibs. I stopped to talk with a woman wearing a bib; she had been in the training group with Hemanth. Having been in a few Atlanta Track Club training groups in the past, I remember how people make close connections in the camaraderie of training week in and week out.
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| Hemanth on the left, in a track training run a couple of days before he collapsed. |
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| Probably Bonnie's last photo with Hemanth, in April 2022 |
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| Aparna Bhattacharyya with Bonnie with about 0.4 miles to go, at the Rainbow Intersection at Piedmont Road and 10th Street. |
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