Updated: Jul 13, 2019
I can not believe that this 4th of July is the 50th year of the Peachtree Road Race in Atlanta, Georgia. The last time I did the race was 2 years ago with over 40,000 racers. This year, over 60,000 racers showed up during one of the hottest days in July!! I feel that this year would be the year that I was more prepared and that I would finally race better than I did before. Athinks an free of charged social networking media website that presents race results and it see how you stack up against the competition. Since I did the race 2 years ago, I was give the racing bid in the Z group but this time I was upgraded to P group!! Let me tell you how my 4th of July turned out at the Peachtree Road Race.
I woke up at 5:00 am in shock that this was the big day to do the 50th Annual Peachtree Road Race! I was scared that my body would become injured if I did not do my stretching exercises. I made sure that I did my 45 minutes stretching and say a long prayer that I will finish this 10 K race! I ate my breakfast quickly, pack a water in my fanny bag (Yes, I still have one and love it!!) and say goodbye to my husband and my 2 dogs.
I rush out the door and drove to the closest Marta Train station. I knew that I would get there just in time for the race but little that I knew that I would have to compete with thousands of other races rushing to get on the train. The trains were pack to the extreme and if you are claustrophobic then you would not want to take the train to the race and you definitely may not want to run the race due to the amount people who were run/walking!!
Once I got off the train the huge crowd of peoples start to walk in one direction directly to Peachtree Street! I started to hear people yell "Racers who are part of groups M -N must line up now to race". I quickly pick up my pace because I knew my P group would be called very soon. The music was pumping and people were dancing in streets and the American Flag was flying in the wind! I looked up and saw the weather category was at MODERATE ALERT LEVEL so I was hoping that the humidity would not go up.
Once the race started I knew that I have no one to compete with by myself and I am not going to start jogging like a fool knowing that I would fall apart before I get to one mile point! I heard everyone yelling " Run or walk at your own pace! Not someone else! " I made sure to remember this while watching people run past me in a very fast stride!
Check out the You Tube Video Below about what I saw at the Peachtree Road Race
Since this is the 50th Annual Peachtree Road Race, the music theme were based on the decades of the start of the race. From the 1970's to 2000's platforms through out the race you saw and heard from all different bands and DJ's that live in the Atlanta area. I decided to dancing in the street to this great music!
I could not believe what I was seeing but two Priests from The Episcopal Cathedral of St. Philip was throwing out holy water to all of the racers that came by. I made sure to say "Father, please bless me to finish the race!" The Priest threw out a huge helping of holy water to me and I felt fulfilled ! I also so in shock to see the The Episcopal Cathedral of St. Philip sign to spray holy water on the racers. Check out the You Tube video above on this!
I was drenching with sweat while walking up the famous "Cardiac Hill" and felt the burn of pain all over my body! Slowly I arrived at the top of the hill to see the smile of the famous 11 Alive TV Weatherman Chesley McNeil ! Right then, I ask him if he could take a self with me because I knew that I arrived at the mountain top when I saw him! LOL! HE was right that the Cardiac Hill was a mile long and felt like walking 12 stories up! This is the hardest part of the race because it was all up hill!!
I knew about southern hospitality did exist in Atlanta and it did show alot during the race. The volunteers and fans that line up the streets during the race gave so many encouragement, cheers and smiles! They are the people that keep you going. I heard "Do not give up!" "You can do this!" "You are incredible and strong!" So much positive energy everyone gave during the race! I also love seeing all of the funny and encouraging poster signs that everyone held up during the race. Check out some of theses poster signs!
When I hit the mid point of the race the weather category was raised to HIGH RED CATEGORY - EXTREME for humidity.
This was when I started to suffer from dehydration!! I decided that every place that had water I would stop and drink! I even walk through places where people threw or squirt water to all of the racers. I did this in order to cool down and prevent from fainting. I was determined to finish this race to get that covet t-shirt no matter what!!
Then at the 5 mile mark, I saw the famous Brook Wood Bridge and that was when I knew that it will be all down hill and over soon! I was so happy to walk on that bridge. There were so many people wearing so many different costumes! Also, I saw so many people from different nationality, backgrounds, races, disabilities and faiths running/walking together and even handing out bottles of water, encouragement and LOVE! THIS IS WHAT AMERICA TRULY IS AND SHOULD BE!!
Then I saw the 6 mile point and I knew that I was at the finish line! PARTY TIME. See my video below as I celebrate my victory finish!!
I am so happy to have finished this race because it was a huge accomplishment ! Not many people can say that they completed a 6.2 miles race in temperature near 100 degrees on the 4th of July! I am just blessed to be a part of this historical day and to get the 2019 Peachtree Street Road Race 50th Annual T-SHIRT! I definitely going to feel the pain tomorrow!!
Next week is the Peachtree Health and Fitness Expo!
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