Upon crossing the finish line at The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Peachtree Road race, Josh McDougal’s body collapsed from beneath him like a foldable beach chair into the arms of two red-vest clad medics. His eyes fluttered closed and spit dribbled from his lips.
This was his Fourth of July to be in pain. Exactly a year ago, the elite runner’s wife endured arguably the greatest pain of them all, a pain comparable to running 10 Peachtree’s in one stretch: child birth.
Now 1-year-old Declan, McDougal and wife Victoria’s son, watched as his father finished 14th in Friday’s Peachtree with a time of 29:41.
“It was a tough race,” McDougal said. “I tried to go out conservative … When we started up the hill I didn’t feel bad. I was moving up, but I was just like, ‘I don’t have that much in my legs and I’ve got a few miles to go.’”
After Nike rewarded McDougal with a sponsorship following his graduation from Liberty, injury plagued the runner and hindered the progression of his career. His participation in Friday’s Peachtree marked his first 10K in seven years.
Declan, sporting a festive red, white and blue bow tie, giggled and smiled up at his father as McDougal recounted the final stretches heading toward 10th Street. The birthday boy happily shared the spotlight with his deserving dad.
“I really felt like I had a shot to mix it in with some of the sixth, seventh, eighth-place guys but I just started to lose momentum in the last miles,” McDougal said. “It became a bit of a death march, but I hung in there well.”
The McDougals plan to spend the remainder of their afternoon in Atlanta to celebrate the holiday and little Declan’s birthday.
“This is a big day for us,” McDougal said.
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