Harry Potter, Wonder Woman make their appearance
Wonder Woman, Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz, runners body-painted as bald eagles and at least two gentlemen in full-body suits took the starting line. One group wore capes and carried small brooms to play Quidditch, the fictional sport in the Harry Potter book series. The group even included a winged golden snitch, which, if you must ask, is the ball used in Quidditch.
"We're just kind of repping Harry Potter," said Sean Lovett, perhaps one of the first times in recorded history that the bespectacled wizard has been "repped."
Lovett and his crew wore soccer jerseys and vuvuzelas last year in a nod to the World Cup.
Thorn extends Peachtree streak to 42
Bill Thorn, Landmark Christian School track and cross country coach, retained his distinction as the only person to run every Peachtree. He ran No. 42 with granddaughter Kenzie Thrasher, who cut short a trip to New York to run alongside her grandpa. The two ran the entire way and finished in about 80 minutes.
"It got to be a little bit of a struggle in the last mile, but I was OK," said Thorn, 80, who exercises seven days a week. "It could've been worse."
The T-shirt will go into a garbage bag with the rest of his complete set.
"I'll sell ‘em for $100,000," Thorn cracked. "Where else are you gonna get [every T-shirt]?"
West Georgia wins t-shirt contest again
What Kenyans are to the race, the University of West Georgia is becoming to the T-shirt design competition. For the second consecutive year, a student in Clint Samples' digital media class won the contest. This year, it was Kennesaw's Jessica Ferguson, 22, whose design was the word "Peachtree" spelled out in orange, red, yellow and white on a gray shirt. The "c" was a semi-circle slice of a peach, including a leaf and stem.
On a scale of one to 10, and 10 being best, the mean score of 22 finishers surveyed was 6.6 with a range of three to 10. Comments included: "It's clean," "I always like when they get a peach on it," "I wish it was brighter," "just boring," "cute" and "lacks oomph." Several runners expressed disappointment more in the gray shirt than the design.
Two of Ferguson's classmates were finalists.
Happy to be running
One of the voters awarding the shirt a 10 conceded he would have given that score to a blank design. Ten-time Peachtree runner Miles Chesley, 62, of Cartersville, was back in the race after sitting out the last two fighting prostate cancer.
"It's my favorite day of the year," Chesley said, who made clear he actually did like the design.
Chesley's race-day buddy was Ivan Santus, 31, a priest from Bergamo, Italy. Santus arrived July 1 in Cartersville to study English and learn American culture. An American flag was attached to his hydration pack.
Said Chesley, "What better way to teach him than to get him with 60,000 of our closest friends."
Padre Santus' evaluation?
"It was good," he said. "Many people."
Welcome to Mile 2
The most sought-after T-shirt was the one that awaited runners in Piedmont Park. No. 2 was available less than two miles at the Moe's in Buckhead. For the 11th consecutive year, the restaurant set up shop in its parking lot with giveaways. It's become a must-stop for many runners on the 6.2-mile route.
"It's as important as getting the shirt at the end," said Peachtree long-timer Lyanne Hancock, owner of about six Moe's Peachtree T-shirts.
Employees and their children stood atop a fire truck and tossed navy blue t-shirts into a crowd below, made up of runners begging, pleading, raising outstretched arms and shouting "Welcome to Moe's!" They gave away 6,000 shirts, their most ever. The swag also included green Frisbees, which were handed out, rather than thrown.
Newlyweds hit the pavement
Per usual, the field included newlyweds announcing their nuptials via T-shirt. Debra and Alvaro Ramirez wore matching "Mrs." And "Mr." T-shirts, along with a veil and hand-made tutu (Debra) and a top hat and bow tie (Alvaro).
Alvaro, who wed Debra on June 18, used the race to perform one of his first acts of spousal sacrifice, moving back from start wave K to M to run with his wife, though he conceded he'd never run a 10K by himself.
"I run with her," he said.
Less than 24 hours after their wedding, Michael Fountain and Marie Mattimoe ran, walked and danced down the course wearing custom-made wedding-dress and tuxedo t-shirts. They decided to run despite the fact that Fountain, who is in Air Force pilot training, was only in town from Friday to Monday afternoon. Running played a part in the couple's relationship; they got to know each other as Georgia Tech students running the campus "Pi Mile" together.
"I said I'd marry him but I wouldn't give up the Peachtree," Mattimoe said.
About 10 family members, including Mattimoe's sister and maid of honor Brigid Drozda, also ran.
Etc.
Atlanta Track Club officials reported that the increased field, from 55,000 to 60,000, did not hamper the execution and flow of the race. The successful implementation of the start wave system last year allowed the club to expand the field, still believed to be the largest 10-kilometer race in the world. About 55,000 participants completed the race.
Former Sen. Max Cleland, a race fixture, was not present. Cleland usually waves to runners in front of his Buckhead apartment. The building concierge suspected he might be out of town. Many runners asked where he was.
"He was missed, obviously," said Violet Mathis, a neighbor of Cleland's.
Atlanta mayor Kasim Reed was the race's starter, a year after missing it to attend a benefit dinner in Colorado. Reed was asked in a live interview by WAGA-TV sports reporter Buck Lanford why he didn't run the race. Reed responded by challenging Lanford, who after his work duties ended ran in his 22nd consecutive Peachtree, to a race next July 4.
Runners donated 1,418 pounds of old running shoes at the start line to GreenSneakers, a charity that cleans and repairs the shoes and sells them at a low cost to non-profits and charities in third-world countries, primarily to enhance economic development.
In their second year at the race, farmers with the Georgia Peach Commission handed out more than 60,000 peaches at the finish line. … A few veteran runners noted that the crowd was smaller than usual, perhaps because of the weather. ... Somewhat oddly, the offerings at the Waffle House sponsor tent included a store-bought box of muffins.
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