A promise to a friend brought Bill Harkins to the starting line of the AJC Peachtree Road Race once again. Harkins, priest associate at the Cathedral of St. Philip in Buckhead, ran his 40th consecutive Peachtree on Monday, a celebration of running and friendship.
“It’s great to see people along the way that I know, and so many memories,” Harkins said.
Harkins ran to honor the memory of Mark Edwards, a college track teammate who was a friend and mentor to Harkins and also ushered him into a life of running. They ran every Peachtree together from 1977-91 before Edwards died of melanoma in December 1992.
“One of the last conversations, he said, ‘Promise me you’ll keep running for both of us,’” Harkins said. “So here I am.”
Harkins was a 400-meter runner in college and was dubious about continuing running after college. With Edwards’ guidance and encouragement, Harkins ran a marathon, the first of 10 he has done. The Peachtree was a way they connected over the years.
“He was a great friend, and running has been such a gift to me all these years,” said Harkins, 61. “Dear friends, good community.”
The Peachtree course runs past his church, where Dean Sam Candler has become a race fixture for his sprinkled blessings to runners, and later by the Brookwood Exchange Building, where he has offered counseling and supervised seminary students.
“So it’s a trip down memory lane in some ways, but it’s always great to be out here,” he said. “The spirit of the city, you can see.”
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