For longtime friends Adrian Freeman and Latrice Pace, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Peachtree Road Race was a celebration of friendship and health.

Freeman, from Miami, and Pace, an Atlantan, have lost a combined 260 pounds in the last year and a half. The two, who met in college about 20 years ago, ran and walked the 10 kilometers together.

“No pills, no surgeries, no quick fixes,” said Freeman, now 275 pounds after dropping 150 pounds since the fall of 2012. “The healthy way.”

Freeman was running his first Peachtree, while Pace completed her seventh. Pace, an actress and gospel singer, lost 110 pounds in a year’s time and now weighs 160 pounds.

“Oh, my God,” Pace exclaimed to Freeman, “this is the first year I’m going to get a small t-shirt!”