The race morning consisted of a half marathon, 10K, 5K, and 2 mile stroll along Atlanta's famous Buford Highway. This part of Atlanta is rich in culture and a very diverse blend of restaurants, shops, and more of different ethnicities from around the world. The race promoted itself as a blend of running, culture, and food.
Today's race beneficiaries were about a dozen charities that participants could chose from when registering for their proceeds to go to. This was a really cool feature because it gave an opportunity for a number of great charities to benefit from the race. I must say, it was kind of tough to choose, but it was a fun little unique aspect to the race.
Parking was in the back of Plaza Fiesta which is where you found packet pickup and port-o-potties before the race. The race started on the other side of the shopping center, so shortly before 7am, the half marathoners were called to head over towards the start. The race start times were staggered over a window of 70 minutes - Half Marathon at 7:00am, 10K at 7:30, 5K at 8:00, and 2-Mile Stroll at 8:10.
Ok, so I have never really been to the Buford Highway area before this race. I will also admit that up until about a week before the race, I was under the impression that this race was in a completely different part of town. Since it is an Atlanta area race, I knew that hills would likely be involved (and borderline guaranteed). Well, I was right. Oh my hills y'all! Just looking in the distance you could tell we were in for a bit of a "bumpy" ride today.
I channeled that emotion to power through the last half a mile strong and crossed the finish line with my best half marathon time in months and one of my better half marathons of 2016.
I sent Momma K to see if there was anything I might want because my quads were on FIRE. I honestly just wanted to be left on the curb to stretch a bit. Since I wasn't hungry, I ended up giving my tickets to some police officers so they could go get a little snack this morning. They were so grateful for the gesture, and I am glad that my tickets go put to good use.