The race morning consisted of a half marathon, 10K, 5K, and 2 mile stroll along Atlanta's famous Buford Highway...or so we were told (more on that later). 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.
My biggest gripe pre-race was the porto-potty situation. There were 8 or so porto-potties, but the line was getting crazy long for some reason. After waiting in line for about 15 minutes with just about 10-15 people in front of me, it was discovered that half of the porto-potties were delivered LOCKED! Someone finally got a member of the race team to come to the rescue and get the other portos opened. After that, the line basically disappeared.
We started promptly and were on our way. A beautiful sunrise greeted us about a half an hour or so into the race. While it was a bit cooler to start, things warmed up quite a bit once the sun came out. Those arm warmers I was wearing, yea, those didn't stay on for too long.
This was one of the absolute worst half marathon experiences I have had running. First, the course was HORRIBLE. Yes, it is bound to be hilly, because ATLANTA. However, having us run a crappy two loop course running mainly on pot-hole infested industrial side streets is not the "scenic and cultural Buford Highway" that we signed up for.
Next, there were CARS ON THE COURSE! About 1.5-2 miles of each loop were on this two lane road that cops were directing traffic onto! Absolutely insane, unsafe, and uncalled for. Yes, situations happen that a car sneaks into the runner lane, but the Chamblee Police Officers were full on directing cars into the runner lane. I paid $80 for this lane (and so did every other runner) and I expect to have my running lane and I paid for. It was like this for the front, middle, and back of the pack alike. This is just one of many incidences along the way....
Thank you again though to my running girls for making the best of the situation with me. I just wish that the circumstances would have been better for our time together today.