The 1800ish runners headed over to the start line a bit before 7am to get ready to go. We met up with a few friends as we made our way through the start area. It is safe to say that we were all carefully re-assessing our goals for the day. With temps this high, it probably isn't the smartest idea to go crazy for a PR. My goal was now simply to finish safely and have fun.
To start, you have a pretty long (but gradual up hill) as we made our way past Phillips Arena and the Georgia Dome. Next, you headed towards the capitol building where you passed your first water stations. Huge kuddos to the race director for taking extra precautions with the heat and adding additional water stations along the way. We had a minimum of at lest a water station per mile. While most runners were carrying fluids, it was nice to have extra fluids along the way if needed.
Yes, it was hot. That is what I signed up for (even though it was a bit hotter than normal). I absolutely love this race for many reasons - the support, the course (hilly, but beautiful), and let's not forget the awesome bling!