Peachtree Road Race 2010- the Day After

This is a follow-up to my Monday Morning in North Georgia post of July 5 www.ngumc.org.
 
I finished the 41st running of the Peachtree Road Race. Hallelujah! My time was ?.41.35. You can add whatever number at the beginning that you think is appropriate. I was just “a little” behind, 25 year-old Gebre Gebremariam from Ethiopia, who won The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Peachtree Road Race in a photo finish with a time of 27.56. There were eight runners in contention with 200 meters to go. Gebremariam, 25, won by a half-step over Kenya’s Peter Kirui. Both were timed in 27 minutes, 56 seconds.
 
From the announcing booth, John Curtin, the Emory track coach who has helped assemble the elite runner field since 1990, had only his expertise    and eyes to rely on.  “I think Gebre leaned a little more,” he said.
 
There were eight runners in very close competition with just 200 meters to go. The top five crossed the finish line separated by only 3 seconds. The winner “leaned a little more.” There is a lesson for life. Don’t miss it: “lean a little more.” Excellence requires just a little extra. Just a little bit more makes a winner.
 
You don’t always have to finish the race to be a winner. For example, Courtney Chambers didn’t even finish the race, but you might declare her a winner. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution told the story of 28 year-old Chambers, of Cumming. In less than two years ago “she was paralyzed from her waist down with a rare neurological disorder. Months of physical therapy followed, as Chambers went from a wheelchair, to a walker, a cane and then orthotics. She wore an air cast on one ankle Sunday. Chambers, who walked to raise money for the Christopher and Dana Reeve Foundation, said she felt lucky.
 
Accompanied by family and friends, Chambers, suffering from transverse myelitis, made it about three miles before bowing out. Not bad, considering she’s five months pregnant, too.
 
She “leaned a little more.” 
 
There were a lot of encouragers along the 6.2 mile route on July 4. They gave high fives, waved flags, held signs cheering on a family member or friend, sprinkled holy water, rang cow bells. They shouted words of encouragement. “You’re looking good,” (although you knew you didn’t). “You’re almost there” (sometimes they lied). “You’re gonna make it” (that reassurance was needed).
 
At the two-mile marker I noticed two persons with signs. One said, “1/3 finished.” The man next to him held a sign that said, “4.2 miles to go.” Both signs were accurate. They both told the truth. The first one motivated me. The second one discouraged me. What you say is important but it matters how you say it.
 
I was glad to see the Church well represented. July 4th was on Sunday this year and it is impossible to maintain your regular schedule with 55,000 people parading right past your front door. Besides, you would not want to be inhospitable and ignore them. So churches along the route adjusted their schedules and celebrated the event along with everyone else. Runners are always greeted at Peachtree Road United Methodist Church, the first church on the route. This year a life-sized photo of twin sisters Ruby and Ruth Crawford, star-spangled fixtures of the race who passed in recent years, greeted runners. There were church members and senior minister Bill Britt at the curb cheering on the runners and walkers. Music played and cups of cold water were provided.
 
A little further down Peachtree Road Sam Candler, Rector of the cathedra of St. Philip sprinkled holy water on the participants. Further down the street the pastor of First Presbyterian stood in his clerical robe and offered a message of hope to the passers by. The Peachtree Christian Church offered water as their church bells rang. The Cathedral of Christ the King, and Second Ponce de Leon Baptist were on the other side of the street and I do not know exactly what they offered.
 
The conflict of timing for the race and Sunday worship services created a dilemma for the pastors and congregations along the race route. You never want to cancel services but this occasion presented a wonderful and rare opportunity for the Christian community to connect with thousands of persons with the ministry of hospitality.
 
As I progressed down Peachtree I saw one sign that applauded Peggy Smith. I wondered who she was and later learned that she was a 90 year-old entrant in the Peachtree. As the final entrants strolled in she crossed the line along with family and friends who wore white T-shirts touting her accomplishment. The AJC reported that “Under a wide-brimmed hat, Smith, who walks daily with fellow residents at her assisted living facility, looked like she could have walked another 6.2 miles.”  They might have finished more quickly, but “we stopped to speak to everyone along the way,” Smith said. “It was loads of fun.” You go, Peggy!
 
There are so many stories but you can follow them on your own. Consider learning more about these other “winners.”
·         Mbarak Hussein, Kenya. The 45-year-old took the Men’s Masters Division title for a third time with a time of 29:47.

By: Jamie Jenkins On 7/6/2010