I got into running after having a conversation with my father on my 30th birthday. I asked him for advice about entering my 30s. He said I needed to start forming good habits because bad ones were going to be harder to break as I got older.
He didn’t explicitly tell me what to do but I decided to start living a more active, health-conscious lifestyle. At the time I didn’t really like going to the gym, or paying for it. I figured running was a good way to stay in shape… since it was free.
Credit: Ben Gray
Credit: Ben Gray
First I’d just run up and down Marietta Street, where my apartment was located at the time, until I got tired. Then, my friend Derek, a.k.a. “Whiteboy D,” who lived down the street and was getting into running, started inviting me to go with him. We’d run once a week, then we added another day, running through Georgia Tech’s campus. Next thing I knew we were running up and down Kennesaw Mountain every Saturday morning.
After a couple of years, I formed a routine where I’d run on my own once or twice a week. During this time another friend of mine we call “Senor Kaos” started a run club that became known as Movers & Pacers. Running with this group every Sunday lured me more into running.
I used to be the first finisher all the time when running. Then guys like Shannon Booker and Eric Campbell started coming around and showing me I had room to improve, which I appreciate to this day. They continue to motivate me because they are proof of Black men remaining active and getting stronger as we all get a little older. Also, seeing other people running and supporting each other, while making new friends and connections, was very helpful in adopting running as a lifestyle.
As my friends noticed how much I was running, they began asking if I was going to run in the AJC Peachtree Road Race but I was clueless as to what it actually was. I’d seen the billboard advertisements around town but I thought it was an invite-only race for professional runners trying to win some money or go to the Olympics.
When I actually looked into it, nothing about it sounded appealing. It was on the Fourth of July, usually the hottest day of the year, and I have to pay for it? No, I’m good.
Plus, I wasn’t familiar with race distances. So hearing “10K” sounded like 10 miles to me. Then when I saw news reports saying there would be 30,000-plus people out there running, it made me think I was just signing up to lose a race and come in 24,318th place. But in 2017 I decided to give Peachtree a shot.
Credit: Ben Gray
Credit: Ben Gray
This came after months of educating myself, entering smaller races and even running my first half-marathon. As I got better and more informed, the thought of running Peachtree didn’t feel so daunting.
The first year actually went very well. When I picked up my bib I was surprised to learn that my 5K times were good enough to get me in the A Wave corral, at the front of the pack. I finished the race in 45 minutes. When I crossed the finish line a volunteer gave me a flier saying I was a “Top 1000″ finisher and I’d won a free beer mug. That felt great, until days later when I heard volunteers actually messed up that year and gave those papers out too early, so I probably wasn’t the top finisher I thought I was. I still kept the beer mug.
When I ran my next Peachtree in 2019, I qualified for the A Wave again. This time I noticed runners wearing bibs with numbers and no alphabets, and bibs with just their first names. After asking around I learned those were seeded and elite runners. I did some research and it became clear I had no chance in hell of becoming either, especially after I finished a minute slower than last time.
I didn’t run another Peachtree until 2022. I did OK, shaving two minutes from my previous time, but I felt like I could get better. I got into running longer distances and training for my first full marathon. By the time I showed up to the 2023 Peachtree I was strong enough to earn a seeded placement.
Credit: Ben Gray
Credit: Ben Gray
I can’t even lie: Being at the front with the seeded Lamborghinis, starting right behind the elite Ferraris, was a cool feeling. It also felt great being up there with a lot of my Atlanta Run Club teammates. Marathon training with them, over the previous months, unlocked another level in me that made me more than ready for Peachtree. I was also extra-motivated to run fast because my Peachtree Road Race t-shirt design made it to the final round of voting.
Credit: Maurice Garland
Credit: Maurice Garland
I did pretty well and finished in under 40 minutes, meaning I can be seeded again this year. The funny thing is, in doing that I actually earned the Top 1000 finisher cup outright and didn’t get one from the volunteers. Maybe I beat them there?
I’ll be 44 years old when I run in my fifth Peachtree this summer and I feel like a stronger runner. But I also feel like a more joyful runner. Leading up to now, there were times I’d pressure myself to finish a race in a certain time or try winning a medal. While it feels great to run faster, meet goals and win stuff, not every run or race has to be about that. Sometimes it’s just about going out and having a good time, and appreciating being in your body.
Credit: Ben Gray
Credit: Ben Gray
As I grow to understand that, I’m still hoping more of my friends and family who I invite to run with me know that too. Most times my invites get declined because they think I want to outrun them (I don’t) or that they are going to hold me up (they’re not). I just want them to feel what I feel when I’m running, and for them to experience some of the benefits and lessons I’ve collected along the way.
2023 AJC Peachtree Road Race: FULL COVERAGE
