August 27, 2022: The REI Run the ATL 20K Relay

A post-race interview with the team Frank & Bees

FRANK: In late March, Brian and Beverly Minor and Bonnie and I agreed to run the REI Run the ATL 20K relay. Three of us ran the relay in 2017, and we had a blast! Sadly, this year's edition was announced to be the last time this race would be held. 

BRIAN: Excited about running the relay, I was trying to think of a creative team name. While in the shower the name Frank & Bees (Bonnie, Beverly, Brian, Brenden) a play on “Frank & Beans” came to me. I immediately asked my wife Beverly what she thought about the name, and she agreed it was a cool name. A few minutes later I texted Frank & Bonnie my suggestion for the team’s name.

FRANK: And within minutes, we were registered! 

 

BONNIE: Unfortunately, in the days before the race, I came down with a bad cold - fortunately it wasn't COVID. 

 

FRANK: So I decided to run Bonnie's first leg of the relay. 

 

BRIAN: I agreed to pick up the team’s bibs and shirts on Friday, August 26 at 4 pm. When I arrived, I saw race organizer Tes Marshall and notified her that Bonnie was under the weather and was unable to run. Frank agreed to run her leg of the race along with his leg. If I recall correctly, Tes said it wasn’t a problem but would be disqualified for any potential team awards. And jokingly said, “Frank needs to slow down because he goes all out.”

 

FRANK: We had agreed in advance to wear the Atlanta Track Club 2022 member singlet. The night before the race, I searched all over the house, and unfortunately never found it. I ended up wearing a Peachtree Road Race singlet that was at least the correct shade of red. 

BEVERLY: Brian and I were up at 4:15 am the morning of the race. I went downstairs to make sure I had all of Brenden’s items packed. Once we were dressed to run and packed everything in the car, I got Brenden up and ready for the race. Brenden was extremely excited because he loves races and seeing “the people” as he likes to say. 

 

BRENDEN: Mommy and Daddy had told me about the race the night before so as soon as I got up, I was ready to go to the race. I was thinking I would see Freddy the Falcon at the race also, but Mommy told me that he might not be at the race. I enjoyed my ride in the “dark” to the city. When we arrived and parked the car, I was ready to get in my stroller. Shortly after we arrived. Uncle Frank pulled up and I immediately asked where Pancake was. I was a little sad about it at first, but I got over it quickly.

FRANK: Our cat Pancake doesn't like riding in cars. But Brenden got over his disappointment, and we walked together to the start. 

BEVERLY: Brenden and I walked down to the start line to cheer on Uncle Frank. Brian joined us shortly after. We took a few photos together and told Frank to have a great race. 

FRANK: As the time approached 7 am, I took a position in the middle of the pack. Tes was making a bunch of undoubtably really important announcements that I couldn't hear, but I figured that I wouldn't be up front so I would just follow the others. At 7:06 am, the airhorn sounded. We were funneled over the rather narrow timing mat, then we were free to run south on Walker Street. 

BEVERLY: When the race started Brenden wanted to run also so we let him run about 100m with the races at the end of the start line. He was excited about that.

FRANK: Knowing that I was running two laps today, I was determined not to start too quickly. I had told Beverly that I was aiming for about 30 minutes, not any faster. Well, I found myself running a 9 minute / mile pace, as the first part of the route was mostly a gentle downhill. 

BEVERLY: After the start, we walked back to the exchange area so I could start preparing for my leg of the race. 

FRANK: A minute or so into the race, a rooster crowed, perfectly coinciding with the official sunrise time! By the time we entered Peters Street, about 3 minutes into the race, I felt that I was running a sustainable pace. Mile 1, 9:13 elapsed. Perfect as far as I was concerned. I decided that I could speed up just a tad as we turned east on Peters Street to return toward downtown Atlanta, paralleling the railroad that runs through the center of town. 

BEVERLY: Brian and I was trying to time it out perfect so I would be at the exchange when Frank was coming down the hill. 

 

FRANK: Eventually we ran up a small overpass to cross over the railway, then back down to cross Ted Turner Drive. Last year when I ran the 20K, I nearly made a left turn prematurely, but this time I just followed the other runners ahead of me. The intersection was well protected by police, and thanked them as I crossed, especially as they had made the drivers pause for me to cross. 

Looking to the north on Forsyth Street. The MARTA building is in the foreground -
running under the building messed up Garmin recording. 
The Westin Hotel is the tall cylindrical building in the background. 

 

One block later, we turned left onto Forsyth Street, now running north toward the very center of town. The road had quite a few potholes but I managed to avoid any mishap. Mile 2, 9:00 flat, 18:13 elapsed. Well, I just hope that Beverly wasn't going to be too surprised when I arrived a couple of minutes early. There was a water station on the left but I decided that I could safely skip this time around.  I caught up to Kristi Swartz in this section. She was running the 10K. I had thought that I would run with Kristi but I found myself moving ahead. I guess she was playing it smart whereas I was recklessly charging ahead on my short 5K leg, maintaining the 9 minute / mile pace.

Kristi Swartz on her second lap

BEVERLY: About 26 minutes into the race, I saw a man in a red shirt at the top of the hill, I was thinking it was Frank but then realized that it was another runner. 

  

FRANK: Left on Marietta, then three blocks to the left turn onto Centennial Olympic Park Drive. A woman was cheering us on with a cowbell and calling out "Run strong up that hill to the finish!" Fortunately I knew exactly what was coming, and I shortened my stride and passed a couple of people running past State Farm Arena, and up and over the railroad (again). Up ahead I could see Mercedes Benz Stadium. 

BEVERLY: While waiting to see Frank at the top of the hill coming in for the relay exchange, I was just hoping that I could have a strong run. 

Frank, about 15 seconds before he reached the relay exchange zone

FRANK: I knew once I passed the second stadium, then it was downhill to the finish, or in this case, the relay exchange zone. As I kicked into high gear, I unclipped the relay tag from my running belt, and was looking ahead for Beverly's red Atlanta Track Club singlet. Fortunately there weren't too many other runners wearing that shade of red today. 

BEVERLY: As I saw Frank hit the top of the hill, I was ready to go and entered the exchange area. Frank looked strong coming in and I was ready when he arrived for the exchange. 

 

BRIAN: Once Beverly and I realized Frank was in bird eye view of the relay exchange we started strategizing the best positioning for Beverly to receive passage of the relay tag. As Frank was gliding into the exchange area, he gently passed the relay tag to Beverly as to almost fumbling the pass. Afterwards, we jokingly laughed about it and said if the relay tag dropped, we would have been disqualified from the race.

FRANK:  The left lane was to the finish, the right lane was for 10K and 20K runners, and there was the relay exchange area. I crossed a timing mat, then I saw Beverly just in time, handed the relay tag to her and said "Go for it!" The volunteer directing traffic through the exchange area called out "Don't forget to stop your watch!" And my watch read 27:39. I had covered mile 3 in 8:58, perfect! I felt pretty good having run well and yet staying within what was comfortable. 

Nick Varvel is training for Berlin and Chicago Marathons, and
raising funds for CURE Epilepsy Foundation

Alice Pate

followed a moment later by Thomas Pate

and Sue Landa

BEVERLY: When I started my run, I felt strong. I had set my peloton outdoor app for a 45-minute walk + run on with my favorite instructors Jess Sims. This helps me push during my runs and keeps me entertained. As I was running, I was thinking about the other 2 times I ran this race and how much fun I had each time. I always make sure I say good morning to all the police officers and volunteers and thank them for helping. As I was running, I remembered how much I enjoyed running this course in the past because the hill is not that bad. That excited me even more. 

 

BRIAN: While Beverly was running the second leg of the 20k Brenden and Daddy enjoyed some father and son time. Brenden especially enjoyed running through the mist station. He must have done it a dozen times. Eventually, he had to potty, and I took him to the porta-potty. He gets a kick going to the potty with Daddy because it is those rare moments he gets to stand up and pee. (maybe too much information, LOL)

Eric Williams, about 15K into his 20K run. We chatted before the race began, 
and shared with him that many years ago, I was able to grow nearly as much hair. 

I'm glad that I enjoyed my hair to the fullest,
long before male pattern baldness set in. 
This photo is from 1980. 

FRANK: After I had cooled down, drank some Nuun, and used the porta-potty, I jogged over the Ted Turner Drive to watch the other runners, cheering on those that I knew. 

BEVERLY: As I got to the 2^nd part of the race the sun was shining more and it was feeling warmer outside. I was determined to push as much as I could to get to the finish line. 

FRANK: As I neared the railroad overpass on Peters Street, I saw Beverly coming down the overpass. She didn't see me at first, I realized afterwards she was probably running into the direction of the rising sun, but smiled when she saw me and heard me cheering her on. Beverly was running well, so I knew that I had better get back to the start-finish area if I wanted to do it at an easy walking pace. 

By the second lap, the runners were directly facing the sun on Trinity Avenue

BEVERLY: I was surprised and happy to see Frank towards the end of Peters Street cheering me on. It was even more motivation to keep me running. 

BRIAN: Prior to Beverly running her leg she told me her estimated time will be about 40 minutes. Brenden loves Daddy but started asking where was Mommy? I replied, “Mommy is running.” I can tell he was beginning to get irritated/tired, so I offer him something to eat. He did not want any of the snacks we brought but wanted gummies. I said, “Brenden we didn’t bring any gummies.” He gently took my hand and guided me to a table that had Gatorade gummies for runners. I took two packs and Brenden ate them all. Now, he was full of energy and ready to play, dance and as he says speak to the “people.” 

BEVERLY: I was so happy when I was passing the Mercedes Benz Stadium because I knew that it would be down hill from that point. I reached in my pocket and grabbed our relay tag so I would have it ready to pass to Frank. 

FRANK: And as I had hoped, about 40 minutes after she started, here was Beverly coming down Walker Street to the relay exchange area. I got into the area, tried to stay to the right side so that Beverly could easily move out of the way. 

BEVERLY: When I arrived in the relay exchange area Frank was ready to run his 2^nd leg of the race. After passing off the relay tag, I stopped my watch at 41:52 and was happy about my performance. Brian and Brenden were waiting for me at the exchange and congratulated me.

 

FRANK: We managed a smooth handoff, and I took off. The volunteer reminded Beverly "Don't forget to stop your watch!" and only then did I realize that I needed to start my watch! Now I was running quite a bit faster, but I felt good. Same route as before, but at first I was running an 8 min / mile pace. I gradually curbed my enthusiasm but still knocked out the first mile in 8:22. 

BEVERLY: After my lap, I was feeling good. I walked over to our area and pulled out an ice-cold water from the cooler and enjoyed sips of water. 

FRANK: I wondered if I could sustain that fast pace. After all, I used to be a sub-25 minute 5K runner, so perhaps being nice and warmed up, I could keep up the fast pace for two more miles. 

BEVERLY: Brian came over and told me that he planned on running while pushing Brenden so we started to clean out the stroller so it would be as light as possible. 

 

FRANK: Turns out that I was wrong about sustaining the 8 min / mile pace. About 11 minute in, my heart rate was redlining in the 170s, and I had to take a walk break. I counted to 20, then started running again. But I couldn't keep running. Within a couple of minutes, I had to take another walk break. And that was how it was for the rest of the second lap, run a minute or two, then walk, 20 seconds at first, then 30 seconds. Brian was waiting for me, probably expecting me to run another 27 minute lap. Sorry Brian, you will have to wait a little longer, I thought. 

BRIAN: At first, the plan was for me to watch Brenden while Beverly ran and vice versa. That plan changed because Brenden decided he wanted to run (ride in the stroller) with Daddy. 

 

FRANK: The lactate was burning inside my legs. Somewhere on Peters Street I smelled burning cannabis. I hadn't noticed it on the first lap but it was pretty strong this time around. Hoping for some momentary pain relief, I inhaled deeply. But there wasn't enough THC or CBD vapor in the air to ease the pain. Mile 2, 9:49, which wasn't too bad. That was going to average out to a 9 min / mile pace for the first two miles, 18:12 elapsed. Maybe I could finish within 30 minutes after all. 

BRIAN: Now, I’m getting nervous because I haven’t run a single mile since July 31, 2022 (26 Days). I have not been training due to the demands of work and had to cut ties with my running coach. Without training I felt confident I can complete my leg under 30 minutes but not so sure how I would far pushing a stroller. 

 

FRANK: I was beginning to accept that I wasn't going to finish the lap in 30 minutes. At the water station, I slowed to a walk and also accepted a bottle of cold water from volunteer David Henry. Thanks, that really helped me feel a little better, especially after I poured a bit on top of my head and the back of my neck. Then a man in a yellow Adidas singlet passed me, calling out "Frank, don't walk! You can make it!!"  Who was that man? I sped up just enough to catch up for a moment and realized it was Jordan Eison, another really fast runner, running his last lap in the 20K. I shouted back "Jordan I'll blame you for my heart attack" and he simply replied "Don't let me beat you in my last lap!" I settled in behind him for another 15 - 20 seconds. When Jordan was no longer looking, I slowed down to a walk. Jordan quickly moved out of sight. 

 

BEVERLY: We kept a close eye on the time because we wanted to make sure Brian and Brenden would be ready to run when Frank made it to the exchange point. 

 

FRANK: The rest of the lap was a blur. As soon as I passed the woman with the cowbell and started working my way up the hill, I slowed to a walk. A loooong walk break. Hopefully the woman wasn't looking at me. 

I missed this billboard on my first lap, but running / walking
more slowly on the second lap, I couldn't miss it. 

BEVERLY: Brenden was extremely excited about riding in the stroller with Daddy. About 28 minutes into Frank's run I told Brian to get Brenden in the stroller and head over to the exchange area. 

FRANK: The mile 3 alert sounded, 11:01!  29:13 elapsed.  I knew that the way the course was laid out, the first and last laps would be a little shorter than 5K, Beverly's lap and mine were a little longer, 3.21 miles to be exact. With the downhill assist for most of the last part, I picked up the pace, redlining the heart rate the entire way, 8:14 min / mile pace. 

BEVERLY: Not long after we got Brenden ready, I looked up and saw Frank coming down the hill. 

Frank handing off to Brian

FRANK: And in the exchange area, there was Brian who was going to run with the stroller with his son Brenden. Brian was ready to accept the relay tag, I had it in my hand, and somehow I kept missing Brian's hand. I basically had to completely stop to have enough coordination to make the exchange. And then, thankfully, I was done for the day. "Don't forget to stop your watch" I heard, and saw 30:58. 

 

BRIAN: Frank and I made the exchange and off I were pushing Brenden in the stroller. As I started running it felt awkward but then found a rhythm. It felt more comfortable for me to run beside the stroller rather than behind it. As I ran there was no one in front or behind me. I thought to myself, I must be the last contestant. As I passed each police officer that was securing the road for the race, I thanked them. They obliged, “great job!” I ran Mile 1, 10:07. Brenden was quiet, so I blurted out “Brenden are you good?” No answer. Oh well, so I kept running and pushing the stroller. I started feeling fatigue, so I took 30 seconds walk break and grabbed a sip of water. 

FRANK: Once Beverly had established that I was going to live, she said "I'm going to run to the other side to watch for Brian". 

BEVERLY: I walked down a few blocks to Haynes street to hopefully see Brian and Brenden coming down the hill at Peters Street. It was a quick walk so I had to wait on them to arrive. 

BRIAN: Mile 2, I implemented the run/walk strategy which slowed my pace to 10:41. 

FRANK: I leaned against a wall and tried to rehydrate and recover. It seemed to take 10 - 15 minutes to recover. It helped that I could walk through the mist station. I did that several times, very slowly. 

BEVERLY: Once I saw Brian and Brenden coming I was trying to get a good video but Brian was running at a quick pace so I could only get a few short videos before he was further down the road. Brian was looking strong and said he felt good. Brenden was knocked out sleep and enjoying his ride.

Brian running the final lap, on Trinity Avenue

BRIAN: Right when I needed it, I saw Beverly cheering us on and she said, “you moving pretty fast” at the same time in her motherly voice said “Brenden’s face is in the sun, put down the shade.” So, I did and kept on running. As I approached the Mercedes Benz Stadium, David Henry (Atlanta Truck Club Elite) was volunteering and breaking down the water station. He saw me and handed me a bottle of water. You can always catch David taking selfies with the running community and sharing his wonderful energy. 

David Henry working the water station - thanks!!

FRANK: I began to walk very slowly, passing the finish line and stopping around 100 meters from the finish, so that I could run in with Brian, Brenden, and Beverly. Around 9:10 am, Beverly returned. 

BEVERLY: When I returned, I saw Frank headed up to the finish line. I meet him and tell him that Brian was running at a good pace, and he should not take that long to get to the finish. I also mentioned that Brenden was taking a much-needed nap during the run. 

BRIAN: It was good to finally see the final stretch of the race. As I approached Mile 3 at 10:50 I saw Frank and Beverly awaiting to run the last one hundred meters with Brenden and me to the finish line. 

FRANK: And there was Brian coming over the overpass. As he drew nearer, Beverly began running with him, I was running along the sidewalk. I was grateful that Brian wasn't running at full speed with the stroller, that was the only way that I could keep up with them. 

BRIAN: Frank was recording our last dash to the finish and jokingly said “this footage is going to be shaky” from trying to run and record at the same time. 

 

FRANK: As we neared the finish line I had to get off of the sidewalk and onto the roadway. With the narrow finish chute coming up, I slowed down and following Brian, Beverly, and Brenden through the finish line. 

BRIAN: We crossed the timing mat, and my watch recorded a total time of 32:52.

Team Frank & Bees relay finish

FRANK: Brian thought that we were the last relay team to finish. Our official results: 2:13:45 chip time, 2:14:00 gun time. Turns out that our team was 27th out of 31 teams in the Mixed Open group, and 43rd out of 55 teams total, so I guess we weren't last. 

 

BEVERLY: We decided to go to brunch after walking to the car. Brian and Frank thought about the restaurant Le Petit Marche in Kirkwood. We had visited the restaurant back in May and really enjoyed the food and figured it would be a wonderful place to visit again. 

FRANK: I called Bonnie at the beginning of my drive to the restaurant, and was happy to hear that she felt well enough to join us for lunch. 

BONNIE: After sleeping in, I was feeling better, and was happy that Frank called me before heading to brunch with Brian and Beverly. 

BEVERLY: We ate outside on the patio. Brenden had fun meeting new dogs (especially Jedi) and a little 15-month-old girl name Gia. 

BONNIE: It's always great to see Brian, Beverly, and especially their lovely son Brenden! 

BRIAN: While having brunch, to my surprise I ran into a childhood friend from my hometown, Brooklyn, NY who came to dine with a friend. During our conversation said she always wanted to run a 5K but only managed to run 2 miles. I encouraged her if she can run two miles, she can run a 5K (not the best advice). I joined Tucker Running Club in 2015, started running five miles around Stone Mountain Park to a 10K, then 13.1 miles and eventually 26.2 miles. If I can do it, you can!

August 20, 2022: Atlanta's Finest 5K

This morning's race, the Atlanta's Finest 5K, has been run on the same or very similar courses ever since I first took on this race in 2014. Earlier this year, the Publix 5K and the Hotlanta 5K covered similar routes. Although I finished under 27 minutes in both races, I was dissatisfied with my positive split in the Hotlanta race, for which the final mile was identical to today's race route.  

With Bonnie around 6:15 am, with the National Center for Civil and Human Rights in the foreground, and the tallest building in Atlanta (Bank of America tower) in the background.

Bonnie and I arrived early, and shortly after 6:30 am, I warmed up on that final stretch of the race route on Luckie Street. Turning around at North Avenue, I paid careful attention to how the route initially slightly dropped in elevation, then a substantial uphill section to the intersection with Ivan Allen Boulevard, followed by the reward of a downhill finish. I could see the Hyatt Place Hotel in the distance, and knew that it was exactly half a mile from North Avenue to passing that hotel, which would be close to the 3-mile marker. My legs, lungs, and spirit all felt good this morning, and while I knew that I wasn't going to run anything close to a personal best today, I felt confident in my ability to execute today's race plan. 

Spoiler alert: blue is slower than green, with red at my fastest!  
We started the race at the green marker and finished at the red marker.
I guess you can stop reading, now that you know that I ran well today.  

I decided to set my watch to kilometers, thinking that it would be preferable to break the race into five smaller pieces than three mile-long stretches. For the first kilometer, the goal was not to run faster than 5:35 min / km (about 9 min / mile), but then to gradually but cautiously pick up speed with the following kilometers, saving enough energy for the Luckie Street Hill early in the last kilometer, and then enjoy a fast downhill finish. 

Before the race, with Jocelyn Disher, Lisa Schoolcraft, Bonnie, and Emily Grossman

I lined up with wave B, more than halfway back from the front of the pack, a couple of rows behind Susie Kim (another spoiler alert: Susie won her age group today!). Ronell Blackmon was today's MC, but the airhorn was sounded by Atlanta's chief of police. I restrained the urge to run past too many others and managed to stay about 15 - 20 feet behind Susie as we worked our way north on Marietta Street. After I few minutes we both caught up to Donna Roberts, and we ran together for a moment. Donna regularly runs with the early morning Tucker Running Club events, but since I'm not training for anything big right now, I've not been motivated to get up at 5:30 am for weekday runs. (Yet one last spoiler alert: Donna won 3rd in her age group!) At 5:38 elapsed, my watch sounded the kilometer 1 alert. I gradually moved ahead of both Donna and Susie: Donna called out "Go for it, Frank!" and I shouted back "Not until the last half-mile!" which I genuinely meant. 

 After the race, with Lisa, Donna and Shawn Roberts.
Donna and Shawn both served as volunteers this morning - and I'm
particularly thankful to Shawn for giving runners ice-cold water bottles at the finish line! 

A few minutes after crossing the North Avenue overpass, the Georgia Tech campus was visible to our right. As I passed the mile 1 marker, I noticed that my watch read 9:00 flat, which was exactly where I wanted to be at this stage in the race. I was still being cautious about my pace but was no longer running with a mental "brake" on my speed. At 11:12 elapsed, the kilometer 2 alert sounded, 5:34, so I was very gradually increasing my pace. Perfect, I thought, I felt good and was very happy to be executing my plan. We soon made the sharp right turn onto Tech Parkway around 13:30 elapsed, which was close to the halfway point of the race route. I could see Susie about 100 feet behind me after I came out of the hairpin turn. 

With Joe Dean before the race. Are we twins??
It's always great to see old friends and meet new people at races.
Joe and I seem to have similar ability, so I hope to see him at many future races.  

Up ahead I noticed the yellow singlet of a man named Joe, who had introduced himself to us around 6:30 am this morning. He noticed my yellow Atlanta Track Club singlet, although his singlet had no logo. We talked for a few minutes, turns out he was formerly a police officer, and used to run a lot back in the 1980's. As we seemed to be similar ages, and he was also wearing a wave B bib, I was wondering if we had similar ability. He seemed to be running well and so I used him as a pacer for the next couple of minutes. At the water station, about 16 minutes in, Joe slowed down to take a cup of water. I heard a few cheers "Frank! Frank!" and accepted a cup of water from Stephanie Batson - thanks! I remembered in my first Atlanta's Finest race how I had skipped the water station and was extremely thirsty for the remainder of the race, so I've used the water stop ever since. 

Pretty good elevation vs. pace profile, if I say so myself.
The water station walk shows up prominently! 

I only needed about 20 seconds walking to finish my cup of water, then resumed running. The kilometer 3 alert sounded at 16:40 elapsed, 5:28, and a minute later at 17:40 elapsed, passed the mile 2 marker, about an 8:40 min/mile pace. Wow, I was impressed with my pace discipline this morning! Around that time I caught up with Joe, we exchanged a brief greeting, and leapfrogged each other for a minute or two. We came up on a little hill, and at that point Joe ran by a young man who was walking, and with a word of encouragement from Joe, the younger man sprinted ahead of us. With a little climb and a gentle right curve, we were at the intersection with North Avenue. 

First glimpse of the Hyatt Place Hotel, at North Avenue (top)  
Getting a little closer at Pine Street (bottom)

I could see the Hyatt Place Hotel in the distance. "5 minutes" I thought to myself, "I can do anything for 5 minutes!" And shortly afterwards the kilometer 4 alert sounded, 21:59 elapsed, 5:19. To this stage I had been running fairly easily. Now it was time to turn up the intensity, just as the elevation began to rise. I left Joe behind as I proceeded to run strongly up the hill. The young man who had sprinted ahead slowed to a walk and I quickly passed him as well. By the way, at that stage in the Hotlanta 5K in June, I was walking, but not today! While it was tough going, every time I looked up, the Hyatt Place Hotel was closer and closer, and it was easier to read the sign with every passing minute. It was like the hotel drew me like a magnet up to the top of the hill! 

Just a few blocks from the finish line! 

Finally I had reached Ivan Allen Boulevard! 25:20 elapsed - when I ran this race in 2019, I had already finished by that time, but I put that thought aside and just returned to my positive attitude about perfectly executing today's race plan for the first 4 kilometers. And now that we were running downhill, I was able to pick up the pace. Zipping down the street past the Georgia Aquarium, I passed several other runners - and no one passed me, thank goodness. I wanted to keep it that way, so I kept my mental accelerator at maximum. My heart rate was pretty high at this time, but I also knew that the finish line was very close. Racing past the mile 3 marker around 26:10 (8:20 min / mile pace for mile 3), we had to run straight ahead to the intersection with Baker Street and then make a left turn. Not a problem, I dug as I made the right-angle turn. In front of the aquarium on Baker Street, it's a few feet uphill to the finish line, but Ronell was cheering runners into the finish. I just focused on running straight to the line, passing a young boy on my way to the finish line. I heard the kilometer 5 alert sound simultaneously with seeing 29 minutes on the clock, and then I was across the timing mat, raising both arms in celebration, stopping my watch at 27:17. The first person that I recognized after the finish line was Sam Benedict, who had finished just ahead of me but started in wave A, so he said "I think you beat me on time!" 

When I checked my Garmin results, I was delighted to see that I ran the fifth kilometer in 5:10, continuing my steady progression in speed, despite some uphill sections in the last two kilometers. Although my official time, 27:12, was a little slower than I had run earlier this year in the Publix 5K (26:41) and the Hotlanta 5K (26:35), I was much happier with today's performance, because I had perfectly executed my race plan from start-to-finish. After accepting a cold bottle of water from a volunteer, I turned around to see Joe crossing the finish line, followed shortly by Atlanta council member Alex Wan, then Susie Kim and Donna Roberts. 

This was a great start to a series of races, continuing over the next three weekends. Stay tuned! 

Official results link

August 6, 2022: Decatur DeKalb 4-Miler

When the Atlanta Track Club summer 4-mile race returned to Decatur in 2021, after a virtual race in 2020 due to the pandemic, the route was substantially different. I didn't run the 2021 race, as we were in Washington State that weekend, so I wasn't sure what to expect. I took an easy jaunt on the course earlier this week, and although I made a couple of wrong turns while taking some photographs that I'll include in this blog, I was convinced that the Track Club had added a few more hills to make the new course even more challenging! 

I was running in from the left side after my warmup run, but
I didn't quite make it into the Atlanta Track Club pre-race photo. 

My plan for today was to run very conservatively for the first three miles (I really mean it this time!) and hopefully turn up the speed at the end for a fast finish. That meant letting go of what I had accomplished on the old course, 33:09 personal best in 2019. As we gathered for the start, it was about 70 degrees and humid but cloudy or perhaps foggy, and I was wondering if it had been a mistake to wear sunglasses. However, I had my trusty small towel wrapping a large handful of ice, and mopped my head with the cool towel as we waited to begin. Wave A started as scheduled at 7:15 am, but instead of starting wave B two minutes earlier, the announcer mentioned that we would have a 4 - 5 minute interval to allow more space between waves, as the roads ahead were narrow. I deliberately took a position near the back of the wave, hoping that would help me start slowly. In front of me, I saw Atlanta Track Club regulars Sam Benedict and Jackie Whitlock. I started with Susie Hill, and just behind me were Kim Harrell and Alice Pate. These five runners are similar to me in ability, although I've lost to every one of them on some occasion, and probably to all of them in a single race when I've executed poorly. I resolved not to race anyone until after I had passed the mile 3 marker. 

It was fairly crowded as I crossed the timing mat, and so I just settled in directly behind another runner as we headed up Commerce Drive and made the first turn onto Howard Avenue, trying not to step on her heels. We ran on Howard Avenue for no more than a few hundred feet when we turned into the neighborhood. Alice Pate passed me as we made the turn. I didn't try to keep up with Alice at first, following my cautious plan for the start, but at some point in this loop I did catch up to and then passed Alice, probably while running downhill, while I had the weight-momentum advantage. I also saw Susie Kim near the end of this loop and after saying hello, I passed her as well. Not that I was racing anyone. 

In front of the Quaker church on Howard Avenue

Re-emerging onto Howard Avenue, I sped up a bit. As we approached the 1-mile marker, my watch alert sounded 9:25. That was too slow to set a personal best, but hopefully not too fast for me to maintain for three more miles. As we took another turn into the neighborhood, I picked up the pace a bit while we were running downhill. No faster than 9 minute / mile pace at this stage, I reminded myself. So far I was feeling good, heart rate was in the 150 beat per minute range so not high enough to be a concern at this moment. I naturally slowed down a bit as we headed uphill to return to Howard Avenue, and another quick right turn. Now the East Lake MARTA station came into view. Around that stage in the race, I passed Sam Benedict. I called out "Sam, don't let me pass you!" but I didn't see Sam again in today's race. Not that I was racing anyone. 

Mural in front of the pedestrian bridge over Howard Avenue
to the East Lake MARTA station

Mural facing Howard Street on the East Lake MARTA station wall

From East Lake Road, we turned onto Parkwood Road where the elevation was definitely a gradual downhill. I just let momentum carry me along, watching my heart rate more than my pace. I was really happy to have some ice left in my towel, which I would rub on my face and forehead for some relief from the heat. My watch sounded as we approached the 2-mile marker, 9:02 and 18:27 elapsed. Definitely not on personal best pace, but I was on track with my race plan. Running down West Parkwood Road was one of the nicest parts of the race. When I was being recruited to join Emory a quarter-century ago, I was told that Atlanta was "a city in the forest". That's certainly true in the older residential neighborhoods. Running in the shade makes Hotlanta summers so much more bearable. So far I had not taken any walk breaks, and had not felt that I needed one, but with the water station up ahead, I decided to accept a cup of water from a volunteer. I walked for probably no more than 30 seconds, and the break did wonders for my heart rate, down to 130 bpm for a moment. I didn't worry about the people who passed me, among them being Jackie Whitlock, because I wasn't racing anyone. 

Parkwood Park between West and East Parkwood Roads

We emerged onto West Ponce de Leon Avenue for just a few steps, before running south on East Parkwood Road. I hadn't fully appreciated running downhill on the west side of the park, but definitely slowed down heading uphill on the east side. I briefly glanced at my watch and saw a 10 min / mile reading, then reminded myself that my goal was not to burn myself out on the hills in the middle of the course. I just shortened my stride, relaxed as much as possible, dabbed my face and head with the cool towel, and let the course play itself out. Turning left on the appropriately named Upland Road, I almost took a walk break, but it had been only about 5 minutes since my water stop walk break, so I managed to keep running even though it was slower going with the shorter stride. Finally we crested the hill and I picked up some speed heading downhill toward West Ponce. For awhile, I had seen Kim Harrell just a few seconds in front of me, now I pulled up even with her. I thought perhaps that I would run with Kim for awhile. I certainly had no intention of passing her, at least not before the 3-mile marker, but somehow today I just glided by. Not that I was racing anyone. 

Right before making the turn onto West Ponce, I shook out the towel. A couple of tiny ice chips flew out onto the side of the road. I then worked the cool towel around my neck, just under the top of the singlet. I passed the 3-mile marker, 9:16 recorded. That was slower than a progressive run pace, but there were hills so I gave myself a break. As we made the turn into one more neighborhood, I realized that 27:45 elapsed = three miles averaging 9:15 min / mile pace, and I probably had enough energy remaining in the battery to pick up the pace for the final mile. I even had sufficient mental capacity for a simple division problem in my head. But my positivity quickly began to diminish as we headed uphill. The left turn onto Emerson Avenue revealed more uphill. I may have audibly groaned at this moment. Several people in front of me were walking. Although my heart rate was now in the low 170s, I fought off the temptation to walk and somehow powered through. "If this was a 5K, I'd be done by now!" but then I cast aside that negative thought as another left turn revealed that we were soon to be running downhill toward West Ponce. Whew! I didn't pick up the pace immediately, but used the gravity assist for a little cardiovascular recovery.  

Parks are so much nicer today! When I was a kid, the local park
had a straight metal slide that was scorching hot in the summer, 
and a few swings on a rusty swing stand. 

Now it was HAMMER TIME! We turned onto West Trinity Place for a straight shot to downtown Decatur. A volunteer called out "Downhill to the finish!" I asked "All the way?" and heard the truthful response "one more small hill but mostly downhill." Of course I knew this not only from my reconnaissance run a few days ago, but I also used to regularly run this section when the Big Peach Running Company store was downtown. As the road headed under the MARTA tracks, I picked up my pace and passed several people in one go. Inevitably we had to run uphill from the underpass, but at this point I knew that I had only two blocks to the turn at Commerce Drive followed by the finish line. I was fighting off the sensation of tiredness; afterwards I saw that I had nearly maxxed out my heart rate monitor. Bob Wells was standing near the Electric Avenue intersection cheering us on by name. I was thinking, just one block to the turn, but then Bob called out "400 meters to finish, Frank!" 

The MARTA underpass on West Trinity Place

400 meters? That's a quarter-mile. That's further than I thought. Fortunately it was probably more like 300 meters. Anyway, I made the right turn onto Commerce Drive. There was a long block ahead to the finish line, but at least I could see the finish line as soon as I made the turn. And I began to speed up, because NOW, I was racing. I didn't sense anyone close behind me, and avoided the temptation to look behind me, knowing that would only slow me down. There was a pretty big gap between me and a cluster of four or five other runners ahead of me. But then I found another gear and accelerated. As the finish line drew near, I thought "I might be able to pass this last fellow" and my inner cheetah took over. I crossed the timing mat a step or two ahead of him, a couple of seconds after my watch had sounded the mile 4 alert. 

I wish that I had ranked a little higher within my age group .....
but I finished mile 4 in 9:00 so the last mile was my fastest,
which was my main goal for today.  

I took the liberty of throwing up both arms in a small celebration before stopping my watch. 36:46 is much slower than my usual time on the Decatur DeKalb course, but I was happy with how I had executed today's race plan. I was absolutely exhausted, but that didn't hit me until after I had crossed the finish line, so I had rationed out my energy perfectly for the conditions. I told Kim Harrell afterward "I couldn't have run a fifth mile like that today." Thankfully the Atlanta Track Club had a cooler of ice-cold towels just past the finish line, even before we reached the volunteers handing out ice-cold water bottles. Even though the cold towel on my head was initially a shock, it felt so good as I wrung out a little ice-cold water to run down all sides of my head and down my body. 

I also missed the pre-race Tucker Running Club photo,
as I was warming up, but made it into the post-race photo,
before I went for a cool-down run.

After I compared Garmin data from today's run with the 2019 race on the old course, it turns out that the new course is actually very slightly less hilly: 279 feet net ascent, 292 feet net descent, whereas the old course was 307 feet net ascent and 309 feet net descent. It didn't feel that way, but as a scientist, I know that I must trust the data! Of course the experiment still needs to be replicated ....

July 16, 2022: Westside Beltline 8K

Today's 8K race was the second in a series of Atlanta Beltline-Atlanta Track Club co-sponsored races, following the Northside 3K / 5K in April. The location and mid-July timing correlated with the former Southwest Beltline race, which was originally exclusively a 5K race, but later offered an 8K option and even a 13K, presumably running both loops in sequence. Although this race was regularly held for several years until the pandemic, the only time that I ran this race was in 2014, in my first year of running. Back then, the route was mostly unpaved: we had even started in a grass field. Eight years later, I was looking forward to running the same route as I ran last month in the Monday Nighter 10K, minus one mile through the West End neighborhood and a loop at the north end of the Westside Beltline, but in early morning temperatures, which today was 74 deg F, vs. 88 deg F last month. 

But first - yesterday morning I joined a few friends in Tucker Running Club for a short shake-out run. Near the end of our loop, I was jogging the curved sidewalk from Chamblee-Tucker to Lavista Road in front of Tucker High School, when I was temporarily blinded by the morning sun at the same instant that we were passing a telephone pole next to the sidewalk. I accidentally brushed against the pole, and was surprised to feel more than just a little surface abrasion, in fact there was now a gouge in my left arm! I felt OK to finish the run, but as I finished the last half-mile, I realized that I was probably going to need more treatment than just first aid at home. I circled back to take a good look at the telephone pole:

This was at arm level.

Let's play a word association game:  

RUSTY NAIL = TETANUS 

Well, that was fun!

I called as soon my doctor's office opened at 8:30 am, and fortunately there was one available appointment, later in the afternoon, so I was able to go to work at a reasonable time for several hours, and avoided possibly spending a few hours at Urgent Care. It turned out that I was the very last patient of the day. The nurse practitioner cleaned up the wound a bit more, closed it with a couple of Steristrips, and then another nurse gave me a tetanus booster. 

Patched up for today's race: tetanus shot on the shoulder, antibiotic-infused bandage near the elbow.

This morning I arrived at Monday Night Brewing about an hour before the 7:30 am start of the race, with plenty of time to pick up my bib, give my favorite MC Ronnel Blackmon a fist bump, complete an easy warmup on the Beltline, pose for a photo with other Tucker Running Club participants, and grab sunglasses and a towel with a handful of ice from my car. I was in wave B and started alongside most of the others from the Tucker Running Club.

with Kimberly Harrell, Stephanie Batson, Susie Hill, Linda Bode Phinney, Carolyn Weber

Ronnel started our wave exactly 2 minutes after wave A had begun. We were instructed to stay on the left side of the route at all times, so that we wouldn't cross paths with the 5K runners when they began at 8 am. We had only one lane of the road, but I knew that the route would be even narrower before the end of the first mile, when we would enter the Beltline itself. In the first minutes, I tried to hold myself back, but found myself passing people. Approaching the 4:30 mark, I moved over to the right side of the road so that I could take a walk break, however I probably slowed down for only 10 - 15 seconds instead of giving myself the full 30 seconds. Bob Wells was cheering us on, and I called out "Louder Bob! I can't hear you!!" I was fired up and sped past more people until entering the Beltline. Fortunately we were spread out enough so that we could run an unhindered pace as long as we just kept aware of those around us. I knew that I was running sub-9 minute pace, but figured that was realistic for today, which would get me a sub-45-minute finish. Shortly after passing the mile 1 marker (8:47 elapsed) I took another short walk break, and jumped into the grass on the left side of the route, to avoid blocking the other runners. Kimberly Harrell passed me at that point, running strongly. The grass was wet with morning dew, so after 10 - 15 seconds, I jumped back onto the paved route and resumed running. A volunteer posted at one of the underpasses was encouraging us, "You look great! You look great!" I flashed her a big smile and a quick "thank you" as I passed.

We were running downhill so I just focused on form and reminded myself to "bank energy" and not time. Kimberly's sister Elizabeth (another Tucker Running Club member) was working at the water station, and I accepted a nearly full cup of water from another volunteer, slowing to a walk to drink as much as possible, and pouring the rest onto my towel of ice. It wasn't long after the water station, while I was taking a very short walk break around 14:30 elapsed, that I saw a motorcycle coming in the opposite direction, followed 15 seconds later by the lead runner in our race. Then I passed the mile 2 marker: 17:28 elapsed, 8:41 for mile 2. Six seconds faster per mile was perfect for a progression run. And now I just had a 5K race to finish. 

As we approached the turnaround point, I recognized several other runners coming back. Kimberly was at least 30 seconds ahead of me, but I figured that I might eventually catch up since I was aiming to run mile 3 just a bit faster, and likewise for mile 4. Turning around at about 2.35 miles, I knew that the return route would be net uphill, but I was ready for the challenge. Heading uphill, I shortened my stride and maintained a high cadence, which felt good. I knew that I could lose my race if I pressed on the uphill sections. Fortunately the 24:30 walk break perfectly coincided with one of the steeper uphill sections. I took the full 30 seconds for that one. I knew that I had slowed down a bit, and passed the mile 3 marker at 26:48 elapsed, 9:20 for mile 3. So much for the progression run, but it was net uphill, so I didn't sweat it. Although by this point, I was sweating quite heavily. 

Now I had just a 2 mile race to go. My idea for the progression run had been to shorten the distance of the race that I was running with each mile marker, so the idea was that when I passed the mile 4 marker, I would run a one-mile race to the finish. To this stage I was definitely on track for the 45 minute finish. And I was very familiar with the race route: just count four underpasses to get to White Street and the mile 4 marker. The first two underpasses were for Interstate 20, then a stretch of a few blocks before the next two underpasses. Unfortunately I was beginning to tire quite quickly, although I was taking the full 30 second walk breaks every 5 minutes. The volunteer was still at the same underpass but now facing toward the returning runners "You look great! You look great!" The nasty thought "You're a liar" came to my mind, but fortunately I didn't have the breathe to spare, so that saved me from being terribly rude. Arghhhh - I should not have cut short those early walk breaks! "Undertrained and Overconfident," that should be the new title of this blog. The first 5K runner flew past us in the opposite direction. I thought, "he's going to pass me before I get to the finish line," even with my 28 minute headstart. Coming to the end of the protected Beltline, past the Crayola art, for some reason it had never registered to me that we had to run uphill to get to White Street. That was the moment that my mental strength totally collapsed.

The 34:30 walk break coincided with crossing White Street, with many 5K runners coming in the opposite direction. I began running again at 35 minutes, but was no longer motivated to push myself. Passing the mile 4 marker at 36:30 (9:42 for mile 4), I was now 30 seconds behind a 45-minute finish. On a good day I can knock out an 8:30 mile at the end of a race. But today wasn't a good day, although I appreciated Bob Wells' was still there to cheer, this time encouraging me by name. I was no longer thinking about a one-mile race, it was going to be a one-mile slog. Turning onto Matthews Street for one block uphill, I took an early walk break (39:00 minutes elapsed). I shook out the last of the ice chips onto the side of the road and tucked the cold towel around my neck under the top of my singlet. When the watch beeped at 39:30, I didn't start running; when the watch beeped again at 40:00, I still was not ready to resume running. I walked for a few more seconds and by then I was nearly at Lawton Street and sped up to a jog. I thought that the 60 second walk break would have helped more than it did: after just a minute or so of easy running, I had to slow to a walk as we crossed the Lawton Avenue bridge over White Street. A dozen or more runners must have passed me at that time. I reluctantly began running again after cresting the top of the bridge, but was moving none too quickly. Ahead of me, a young man was bent over, probably vomiting into the grass by the sidewalk. On the bright side, I didn't feel that badly. I passed him and his friend as they resumed running as we made the U-turn to head down the ramp. I thought about sharing a few words of sympathy, but didn't have the energy for it, and they passed me as soon as I came off of the ramp. I think that at least one of the 5K runners must have passed me on the ramp or perhaps shortly after getting off of the ramp, but it didn't register with me.

I estimated that I would need at least 3 minutes more to reach the finish line. My watch was showing 43:45, so a 45-minute finish was now impossible. I resolved to jog my way to the finish. I could hear Ronnel cheering runners through the finish line ever since I had come off of the ramp, but I knew from past experience that the finish line wasn't all that close. It wasn't until I saw the mile 3 marker (for the 5K runners) that I knew that I had only 0.11 miles, 177 meters, about 177 steps to go. And I managed to regain a little speed. I was at the back of a rather large group of runners. I wasn't going to pass any of them, but didn't hear anyone close behind me. My goal was not to be caught from behind, and I managed to get to and past the finish line. Official chip time 46:52, I needed 10:29 for the final mile. 8 kilometers = 4.97 miles, and my watch recorded 5.00 miles, and I know that I didn't run in a straight line or perfectly run the tangents, so I'm certain that the course was perfectly accurate, thanks to the professional measurement made by Atlanta Track Club. I wobbled to a stop, then gratefully accepted a bottle of water from a volunteer. One runner was sprawled on the concrete. I badly wanted to lie down as well, but I knew that was the worst thing that I could do if I wanted to avoid every muscle freezing up, so I just kept walking slowly. Luke Butler and Jacque Hartley greeted me as I tried to catch my breath: they both had good runs today. Another runner who finished shortly after me congratulated me on being his "rabbit" - that brought a smile to my face.

I was 10th out of 22 finishers in my age group. These are chip times, so it wasn't a photofinish with anyone on this list.

Very slowly, I walked back into Monday Night Brewing to pick up my shirt and congratulate Kimberly on her excellent run. Over the next few minutes, the others in Tucker Running Club made their way inside. I had left behind a puddle of sweat where I had stood while the others arrived, but we found a dry spot for our post-race photo.

Susie, Stephanie, Kimberly, me, Carolyn, and Wende Johnston (who had volunteered at the starting line then ran the race beginning with with a later wave, and won her age group!). My shirt is sweaty just from holding it. 

Although I was disappointed with the last mile of my race, I'm happy to report that I've been slowly losing weight. It will take time but I'm patient, and by losing weight slowly, I expect that I won't lose any muscle. I'm looking forward to what I may accomplish when the weather begins to cool in a couple of months.  

This afternoon, I returned to the offending telephone pole with my toolbox. The Tucker High students will return to school in just a few weeks. I imagine that I'm not the first person to have been injured by that nail considering how close it was to the sidewalk, but hopefully I'm the last for awhile. I removed all of the nails that were sticking out of the telephone pole on the street-facing side, from the ground to just above my head. I gave up on the dozens of staples but had been a lot of metal on that pole. I don't know why people use a long nail to hang up a sign for an event or a missing pet!

After I was done

I extracted a lot of metal from the street-facing side of the pole

THE RUSTY NAIL

"Scars are like tattoos, but with better stories."

July 4, 2002: Peachtree Road Race 10K, "Running with Hemanth in our hearts"

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. 

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. 

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. 

Hemanth on the left, in a track training run a couple of days before he collapsed. 

Probably Bonnie's last photo with Hemanth, in April 2022

Aparna Bhattacharyya with Bonnie with about 0.4 miles to go, 
at the Rainbow Intersection at Piedmont Road and 10th Street.