Bill Thorn put No. 45 in the bag Friday – extending his string as the only person to run every edition of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Peachtree Road Race.
“It was real good,” Thorn, 83, said from his home in Tyrone. “It was a real good day to run.”
Thorn joined other runners from the first Peachtree in 1970 at the start of the race, including his sons Bill Jr. and Terry. Daughter Cheryl Thrasher, granddaughter Kenzie Thrasher and grandson Caleb Thorn also accompanied him on his way down the Peachtree course. He said the weather was “one of the better years I can remember.”
Running and walking, the group finished in one hour and 28 minutes, Thorn said. Thorn, who coaches track and cross country at Landmark Christian School in Fairburn, wore a plain-white running shirt and gray shorts.
“I’m kind of simple and plain,” he said. “I didn’t have any logos on it or anything.”
Per usual, Thorn kept his race t-shirt folded up, ready to join the rest of the collection. He doesn’t wear them.
Thorn has managed his health with a daily exercise routine that includes running, walking, bounding on the trampoline and stationary bike.
“I look forward to another one,” Thorn said. “Like I told everyone, you’re never certain when you get up there, how it comes out, whether you’ll make it. As I was finishing, I said, ‘You know what? I just got my ticket to next year’s race by completing this one.’”
