Last weekend, Scarlett, Zelda, Hazel and I took on the Jeff Galloway 13.1. I ran this event last year with Nell and really enjoyed it. This year did not disappoint.
This is only the second year of the event. The "normal pricing" for this half is pretty hefty at $125 but if you register early (like now), your fee is $49. I am already registered for 2016 and happy to share the code if anyone wants to join.
This half is a point-to-point starting near the Midtown MARTA station and ending in Piedmont Park. Nell scored us an awesome midway parking location which was perfect although also a little pricey when you have to pay the full price ($30). Nell got us in for free last year.
There is an Expo the two days before to pick up your race packet at 200 Peachtree Street, which is a hike into downtown. But they did validate parking for it to only cost $5 and allow you to pick up others numbers. At the expo, besides your number, you got a nifty race bag and a very nice long sleeve V-neck womens cut technical shirt. The expo had about 20 vendors and talks that you could attend by running legends: Jeff Galloway, Amby Burfoot, etc.
Race Day-we met at 6:15am at Starbucks to carpool. This was probably a little earlier than needed but I was not confident in my abilities to navigate us to the parking garage. Just for the record, it is right near Joe's on Juniper. Hazel was awesome to drive us and provide us entertainment while we passed the time in the parking deck. She popped on Eddie Murphy's Delirious DVD and time flew by with laughter. It was about 2-3 blocks to the start line with time for porta potty visits.
Next thing, we knew, we were off and running. This is my very favorite Atlanta course. Water stops were plentiful and two stops along the way with gu. Course navigation was easy and the Galloway style walkers/runners blended well with the crowd.There were just under 2,000 participants.
At the really lovely finish line in Piedmont Park, they called our name over the microphone. Gave you a need recovery jacket, water, a very large medal and a fitful box of food. Don't get me started on fitful boxes of food which are also provided by the Atlanta Track Club at their events. That rant could fill a whole column. There were coffee and other vendors there as well as a station you could get your medal engraved. We had our photo taken with the one and only Jeff Galloway and then headed about 2-3 blocks to our car. Pretty easy in and easy out. Our fast and lovely Hazel was 7th in her age group and sub 2!
SCARLETT'S REVIEW:
I loved the race! I am so thankful I was able to take part in it (thanks Sadie for the number!). When I think about whether or not I want to run the race next year, I think the most difficult thing is the timing. It is in the middle of the holiday season, so you never know if you have a great party to attend the night before. Sometimes it is hard to abstain from drinking (at least for me.). Also, the weather could be challenging. That race would be harder to run in the cold and rain. The starts aligned for me for the race. I had a mellow party to attend on Saturday night and the weather was incredible.
The sights that I ran by during the race are picturesque and nostalgic. There were remnants of fall, as there were still leaves on the trees. I saw the places I used to hang out when I was single in Virginia Highlands. The beltline was a wonderful piece of the run. I enjoyed looking at the art and Atlanta skyline all around. They have done so much work to Piedmont Park, the dog park, tree plantings, the orchard. Loved seeing all of this too. I was able to enjoy music the whole time on the run and my unreliable phone didn't die. The food after wasn't anything to write home about. I always enjoy the chocolate milk after the Publix race and this was not to be had. We were only handed a cardboard box of snacks and water. There were some samplings from Sweet Tomatoes and a couple of protein and smoothie companies. This didn't change my opinion of the run though, as that part isn't as important to me. It was impressive to see how many older people were running the race and using the Galloway method. It was very encouraging the me that I could continue running at 65 and beyond! Praise to Galloway for introducing running to so many people. There was a long line of people who wanted to take a picture with him. I hear that we get one free photo from the race!
The walk back was easy thanks to a great parking deck we found that was close to the start and finish. So convenient!
Scarlett
That's all for today's blog. Can't wait to figure out what I am going to write about next week.
May the Force Be With You,
Sadie
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