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Race Recap - Atlanta Thanksgiving Day Half Marathon
270 Plays2 months ago
In this bonus episode, we’re recapping AJ’s experience running the 2025 Thanksgiving Day Half Marathon in Atlanta— a cold and hilly race that still delivered some unforgettable moments. We talk about the Triple Peach Race Series, the challenging elevation, the best parts of the course, and how Hollarhype messages from friends and family completely transformed the run. If you’re curious about Atlanta races, the Thanksgiving Day Half Marathon vibe, or how this compares to runDisney events, this quick recap is for you.
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Transcript
Introduction to Non-Disney Races
00:00:00
Speaker
Every once in a while we run a race that's not a Disney race. And I did that this week when I ran the Atlanta half marathon on Thanksgiving
00:00:10
Speaker
day.
00:00:13
Speaker
Hey there friends, this is a bonus episode. This is where Erica, we talk about races that are not Disney races. Did you know there are non Disney races? Yes, I've heard about these. Yeah, they exist. So every once in a while you and I will do one that is worth talking about. So we've done a few bonus episodes now. We did one for the Peachtree City Classic. We did one for another Atlanta race I did. We did one on your PR race. um I think for me, the goal is like to provide helpful information for people who live in you know not Orlando. or you know The Disney races are hard to get into, so if you want to run you know a race in a different...
AJ's Atlanta Half Marathon Experience
00:00:50
Speaker
area or whatever yeah like there are other fun meaningful worthwhile races so we're just going to kind of talk through the ones that we end up doing so that's what a bonus episode is am i missing anything on that erica that's good so uh because this race was one i ran yeah and you did not have any interest in it did i say that correctly like that that is accurate right Yep. Yep. But you wanted to come and you wanted to support me, whatever. And I told you, Hey, look, this one, it starts in a pretty rough part of town. And it was like, well, it was like 32 degrees or something. yeah Temperature plummeted in Atlanta this week. And so, uh, I said, Hey, let me just go. raise race I'll come home. we'll we'll catch up all about it. So really I say all that to say you weren't there. i was So you have no idea now what anything other than the little tiny little pieces of information I've given you. So you, I guess if you want, just fire away with whatever questions you have.
00:01:47
Speaker
And hopefully that will be like helpful for people listening. Including me. Right. Because you weren't there. Right. yeah So anyway, I'm going to give you control. Okay. you This episode's all you. Perfect. So AJ, describe this race for us.
00:02:00
Speaker
Okay. This was, I ran a half marathon. It was on Thanksgiving day. It's a annual tradition, right? um I think it's the Atlanta Track Club, which we're members of. It's their event and there's multiple races. So not only a half, there's a Half, 5k, there's a mile. Okay. I've never done a mile. mile? Yeah, and a dash. Okay. And I have no idea how what the distance on the dash was. Okay. don't know if it's like a hundred meter dash. I have no idea. It was held in downtown Atlanta. which I had done another race, to Atlanta 10 miler month or two ago.
Triple Peach Series and Race Preparation
00:02:34
Speaker
And it was like on the north end of of Atlanta, like yeah it's still inside the city. I'm just going say like maybe like a little bit nicer part of town. This started kind of in a, you know, in a very what you would consider a downtown right kind of vibe. Yeah. So why did you want to do this race?
00:02:50
Speaker
Oh, okay. That's a good question. So Atlanta Track Club has what's called a Triple Peach Series. And what you do is you do three races throughout the year and you can earn the Triple Peach medal. So Disney people would consider this like the challenge. challenge, yeah. You know, where you do multiple races, but those are all in one weekend. Right. This was the...
00:03:10
Speaker
10K in July, which you did, weigh we did together. Yeah. So I earned that medal. Then the October race was that one in North Atlanta. That was the 10 miler. And then you do the Thanksgiving day half. You do all three. And when you cross the finish line, you get the triple peach medal as well. And so that's why I wanted to do it. They have...
00:03:29
Speaker
The ultimate peach as well. Oh, yeah? Yeah. What's that? Well, they add the marathon ah in March. So, you know, I unfortunately can't do it, though.
00:03:39
Speaker
We'll be a princess. And so no ultimate peach for me. But that's really why. That's Princess is there. would say if there wasn't... the triple peach element of this i probably wouldn't have chosen this race yeah like like i'm not saying i wouldn't choose it now having done it i'm saying looking at it from the outside right i probably wouldn't have been like oh look they have a half marathon on thanksgiving i'd have been like no thanksgiving's the day that like i am at home with family cooking you know whatever anyway yeah so tell us about the pre-race experience what was that like Pre-race, you mean like the expo and all that? The expo, it was held multiple days before the event at the Atlanta Track Club like headquarters. And you went with, actually, the kids went too. And yeah so we just made ah we live outside the city, so we just made a trip out of it you know to go up on, I mean, several days before. And it was kind of weird to not be like the
Facing the Cold: Race Day Challenges
00:04:28
Speaker
day before the race. We went several days before and because they had the
00:04:31
Speaker
Um, the expo and multiple, multiple days. So we went up to their headquarters and I would say you were there. It was just an expo, right? Like it was easy. Like, was there anything notable from your side of things? i mean it was just, you know, number pickup. I bought a t-shirt, you know, like a, in addition to my participant shirt, was there anything that you had?
00:04:48
Speaker
I mean, it was normal, right? No, the only only maybe thing to know is that it wasn't at least this year. And I don't know if it's every year. It wasn't held where the race start is. That was a little bit different. Yeah. So, you know, Disney races, like I know it's not at the start line, but it's at least in the, it's at Disney. Right. Yeah. Right. yeah And then the other races we've we did for this, like, yeah, the expo was right.
00:05:10
Speaker
It was wherever the start line was. Right. It was fine. It was easy. Cool. So what was the start line experience like other than freezing? It was cold. Yeah. That's that' that's really the the answer there is it was just cold. Yeah. it is You know when you get between like big buildings? Yeah. 6.15 in the morning and it's 30 something degrees, the wind comes through, right? And you're like in the shade waiting for the sun. like You know what I call that?
00:05:34
Speaker
What? The feels like temp. yeah yeah You give me a hard time about this when we're at Disney. I'm like, I don't care what the actual temp is. What is the feels like temp? So that yeah, the actual temp was like 32 or something like that. Right. When the wind slices through those buildings. Yes, it's freezing.
00:05:48
Speaker
I was the one. I only saw one other person. was like one of maybe handful of people with a Mylar. I was wrapped in tinfoil. And the other girl that I saw in Mylar, like she just kind of looked over at me and just gave me like a little nod. And I was like, yes, we're the smart ones. Mm-hmm. And this guy came up to me and he walks up and he's shivering. Like he's just shaking, you know? And he literally puts his hand on my shoulder. man, I need one of these. And I'm like, yeah, yeah. I'm sorry. I can't give you mine, you know? But yeah, it's freezing out here. And so interestingly, I set up my outfit and the night before you're like, hey, is that all you're wearing? Yeah. was like, I feel like you need to put some more clothes on. I think I thought it was just going warm or whatever. And I wasn't factoring in, like we just said, feels like temp. Yeah. Downtown, all solid surfaces. The wind is coming through, know, like shade. I just wasn't really thinking about it. You know what they need to make?
Organization and Course Challenges
00:06:41
Speaker
And I'm thinking of this as we talk. Are you inventing something on the podcast? I am. Yes. Okay. you had your sleeves out to wear with your short sleeve shirt. I did.
00:06:48
Speaker
Which are just like super thin. Like, I don't know. They need to make like fleece lined. Yeah. Sleeves. You don't think they make that? I mean, I've never seen any. Have you? No, but i I don't think I've looked for it either. That would be really smart. Right.
00:07:02
Speaker
I'm going to like search Amazon when we're done recording this. Yeah. But if not, they need to make them. So so at the Starline, I had my thermal shirt on and my t-shirt and my Mylar and my gloves. And they gave us like this super ugly, in our gift bag or whatever, this yeah super ugly ear warmer. What call that band that goes over your head? An ear warmer. Ear warmer thing. Neon green, which is totally not my aesthetic. Right. Yeah. I was cold enough that I was wearing it. And I was, cause I, cause I could throw it away. Like I didn't like it.
00:07:30
Speaker
Yeah. I mean, so that that was, could be a donated item, you know? Yeah. When I got, and I got my legging, I got, was all bundled up. So the start line at all these Atlanta races that we've done, it weirds me out because we're Disney run, Disney people. Right. It weirds me out that like, you just show up whenever you want.
00:07:46
Speaker
And just walk into your corral. Yeah. No checks. You're like, do you want to see my bed? I have it right here. walked up, Erica, with my, um, my life. Yeah. It wrapped around me like a, like a cuddled up cocoon. Right. And I walked up to my corral like, and spread wide like Batman, you know, so you could see it. No one cared. You know what mean? Like nobody. And I'm sitting in B and I'm looking forward, right? To A's in front of me.
00:08:11
Speaker
I'm looking, there I see a C over there in corral A. I see see I'm like, you're like, what are you doing? Yeah. Um, so, it's just weird to me. You can just walk right up. Right. And so I did, I stretched, I did all my stuff way away from the corral in 10 minutes before the race. I just walked up. Just moseyed on up. Yeah. I literally was trying to stand where there was like some ray of sunshine. That is hilarious. Yep. So anyway, the start line was fine. You know, they just closed down a street, you know, downtown Atlanta kind of. Cool. So it was fine. The weather was the worst part. Yeah.
00:08:43
Speaker
So what was the course like? I mean, I kind of already know, but... Yeah, it was first thing I came home and told you. Yeah. It was um it was cool to run Streets of Atlanta And it was one of the reasons I wanted to do it. It cool to see stuff. Yeah. There's historic stuff, you know, like, honestly, parts of the town I wouldn't go to. You know what i mean? So it's cool to just see those kinds of, you know, parts of old historic parts of town. We went through Piedmont Park, which is gorgeous. i mean, not necessarily this time of year. It's not because it's winter, you know. Right. But it's just an amazing park. If you live in Atlanta, it's an iconic spot. So anyway, the course in terms of that was good. It was...
00:09:23
Speaker
How do I put this? hey I don't know how to put it into words. It was the hilliest thing I've ever done. Yeah. And everybody warned me. leading any Anytime I told someone, oh, I'm doing the Thanksgiving Day half. And they'd be like, oh, I did that one time.
00:09:36
Speaker
And I was like. I heard so many stories like that. That's why when you're like, do you want to do this course with me? I'm like, absolutely That was the number one reason you didn't want to do it, Yeah. When like the 20 year old kid that our running coach works with and he was like, oh, that was one of the worst course. I'm like, well, if he said that, there's no way I want to do it. know He's like a professional athlete. He's like 23 years old. Yes. he's like, oh no, that the hills will kill you. Yeah. Oh, okay. Oh, super. And of course I'm sitting here thinking, eh.
00:10:04
Speaker
I hill train. I'm sure it's fine. it was hilly. Yeah. For sure. Tell us about the intensity of these hills. Yeah. So like everybody went out really fast on flat ground, maybe a little bit of a descent, but I was like, y'all better be careful because I saw the course elevation thing on the the map. Like y'all better be careful. yeah And then everybody went out fast. And then we hit that first hill. And sure enough, I'm like, well, it was nice seeing the back of you from before. and Now i'm yeah you know i great I won't see that again. You know what I mean? And so I do, you know this about me, but maybe our friends don't know this yet. Like I don't walk on a hill. right I refuse. yes An uphill. An uphill. I will if i refuse. yes I don't know where where that comes from, but I just know. It's your threeness. Yeah. I'm like, nah, nah. We do hard things here. Right. You know what mean? We run. That's right. So I've always been that way. Yeah. yeah And so I did. i took these hills like it was nobody's business. Yeah. to mean Which didn't make it easy. Yeah. You said there was like people throwing up.
00:11:03
Speaker
Okay. So that was near the end. Okay. That was near the end where like, so at the beginning, it's like, yeah. uphill downhill uphill downhill uphill downhill you know what mean and then oh wow this this part of you know like where the capitol building is wherever nice and flat for a little while you're like oh this isn't bad yeah you know but i also knew the course uh elevation gain map thing whatever right right right yeah it's like i know it's coming yeah you know and sure enough mile like five five and a half something like that we plummeted downwards and i'm like oh no what goes down has to come back up i know it does i saw the map thing right right right yeah sure sure enough it plummets down into um piedmont park piedmont's flat it's wonderful and then the long slow climb yeah all the way back up uh-huh yeah for i think it was for two two and a half miles oh my gosh it was just this long slow no relief uh That sounds terrible. And so, yeah. So you did that. And then there were still like some ups and downs and ups and downs after that. Yeah. And so, ah yeah, right there towards the end, maybe two miles out or whatever, I saw a couple of people on the side of the road, completely gassed. This dude got his hands on his knees, throwing up on the side of the road. And I don't know if he was going for, I don't know what he was doing.
00:12:17
Speaker
Right. Going for it. Like he might've been pushing redlining the whole time or whatever. Or maybe he was food poisoning. I don't, I can't say it was the hill yeah add it to him, but from an optic standpoint, it probably was looking at it. it I'm like, oh I don't blame you because my heart rate yeah was really high.
Historical Atlanta Highlights
00:12:33
Speaker
So interestingly, like I didn't push on this race, you know, I did this race for the, uh, for the triple peach medal. Right. Run on Thanksgiving day. We're marathon training. So I just, you know, it was simulation weekend, all of that stuff. Right. Yeah. I was not going for time. Right. But I mean, my heart rate was super spiked because these hills. I could not imagine trying to PR.
00:12:57
Speaker
Right. Proof of time. No. This was not the course. Not the course for that. In any way. So i did some research. Yes. Tell me. the elevation gain on this one compared to what we're used to right at a disney race i looked it up okay the disney princess half from this last year 213 feet of elevation gain okay and we know that disney courses are pretty flat flat yeah but they have some overpasses and things like that you know what i mean and so just so you know like that's if you've run a disney race yeah this course was 840. so it was for like almost four times yes the the elevation climb dang as a disney race of course i did do some other research on the internet like what are the toughest road race half marathons whatever oh my gosh erica there's one in like roanoke virginia or whatever it's like 2000 feet of it's like a road race not even a trail race why would you do that to yourself i don't know Oh my gosh. But 840 was hard.
00:13:55
Speaker
I bet. You know? Yeah, I bet. And I wasn't pushing. Like, at no point was I ever, like, trying to, like, do something super hard. Yeah. Anyway, that that was the that was the... So, yeah. To answer your question, how was the race? How were the hills? It was as bad. Yeah. Maybe worse. Yeah.
00:14:12
Speaker
than what people had said. ah You know what? Someone told us, I think it might've been that same kid you were just talking about. He's like, you're going uphill, uphill, uphill. yeah And then you see that you're turning a corner and you're like, oh good.
00:14:24
Speaker
Like surely we'll get some, we'll get to go downhill or something. And he's like, you turn that corner and it's still uphill. yeah And then you're like, we couldn't possibly go any higher. You know what mean? And sure enough, i was like, well, maybe he was exaggerating. No, no sure enough. You like turn this corner. and You're like, how are we still going uphill?
00:14:43
Speaker
Fabulous. So did you enjoy anything about this race? I actually did enjoy it. Tell me, what did you enjoy? i enjoyed that I didn't push it. I would i mean, honestly, yeah that was the thing was that if I was trying to get a proof of time and I had a number in mind, I did not have a number in mind. Now, my personality type, my achieverness, once I saw that I was sub-whatever for the majority of the race, I'm like, well, I'm going to maintain this sub-number so i can...
00:15:11
Speaker
at least have some accomplishment today. Right, yeah. And not just like, ah, just walk it in. You know, like I yeah i still like to achieve stuff. Right. um Some highlights for me on this race, like in terms of like geographical things, Piedmont Park was great. I mentioned that. um It's a beautiful park. It's not beautiful this time of year, but it's just, it winds and you know, like there's something, I mean,
00:15:31
Speaker
When you've done enough streets, now a park is nice. Yes. You know what mean? And then sometimes the reality is sometimes you when you're doing all these paths and they're narrow and also you kind of want to get out on a street and let everything widen up. So anyway, we've got some variety that way, which is good.
00:15:45
Speaker
I had never been through and I had to even look it up to see what it was because I had never done this. You've heard of Krog Street. Yes. Right. Like we've been to like the Krog Street Market or whatever that's called. The Krog Street Tunnel, never been there. And I need to show you a picture. It's completely graffitied. Uh-huh.
00:16:01
Speaker
Like completely. Actually, I should just look it up while we're chit-chatting. It was so cool. I did not video anything on this race. I never pulled my phone out to like take pictures or anything like that because I just wanted to just enjoy the run for the run. you Right, right. um And so, but this was one of those moments where I was kind of like, dang, I should have taken a picture of
Race Morale and Post-Race Reflections
00:16:21
Speaker
that. Let me look it up. Crog Street Tunnel.
00:16:24
Speaker
It was super cool. Check out this tunnel. It's a long tunnel. Oh, yeah. That's really cool. Isn't that awesome? Yeah. That's awesome. Yeah. You guys ran through there? We ran. Yeah. So obviously it has a pedestrian path and stuff like that, but it's like this super cool tunnel. Yeah. Oh, that's so cool.
00:16:40
Speaker
Yeah, I really enjoyed that. It was fun. Like geographically, those were cool. I mean, you know, running by the state capitol, all that, it was fine. yeah But geographically, those are my favorite parts. But my favorite things about the race were actually not things that the Atlanta Track Club or the city of Atlanta or whatever did. They were, well, it was the Holler Hypes. And if you've heard us talk about Holler Hypes, you know what it is. If you haven't heard us talk about the Holler Hypes, we have a YouTube video all about it. Yes. Go look it up or just go to the app store and download Holler Hype.
00:17:09
Speaker
Yeah. the The Rise and Run group in the in there is awesome. You get basically like shout outs, hypes, whatever in your ear while you're running. Yeah. Right. And we've talked about it. We've used it. You like it. I like it. Whatever. Anyway, you. Yes. Took it to a whole nother level. Yep. On this race. So you orchestrated friends and family and all that. And I'm getting all these messages throughout the whole race from all these people I know. Yes. Thanks to you. Yes. And the first one I was like, oh, my in-laws are on Holler Hype. That's crazy. You know? And like I really thought, wow. Yeah.
00:17:51
Speaker
I mean, I didn't know they were technical. I didn't know how to do that. and But because I don't have the app open, right? right I'm just hearing, I'm like, but it was really nice to get a message from my in-laws. And then I get one from our daughter. And then I get one from friends from our small group. And then I get one from our other daughter. And then I get one from you. Like all of a sudden, it's snowball. And then I'm like putting pieces together. Erica pulled this whole whole effort together. And it was super cool. Do you have something to say? No, I just was going to tell people how I did this. Oh, yeah. Okay. Yeah. what I did is I had people send me voice memos and I played them um from my iPad into the Holler Hype app to record. oh Yes. So they all went through you. Yes. I had everyone send me messages. Everyone was like signing up the Holler Hype app. no. Because they don't need to be in there. Well, I didn't know if they'd be able to figure it out by the time you finished the half marathon. So yeah, I just said, send me voice memos. And then I played them from one device to the next. Okay. Okay. Well, it was awesome. I'm going up this huge hill. That one out of Piedmont Park. Yeah. You know, I was telling you, it was like two miles up. And so my sister gets her son, my nephew, yeah two years old. Is he two, two and a half? No, he's probably pushing three at point. Yeah, he is. Yeah. And he's- He's almost three. Gives me a little hype. He's like, run, run.
00:19:01
Speaker
I know. It was so cute. I know. I was like, and you know what? was so funny is like- I just grinned from ear to ear. Yeah. Running up this hill, head down. I know my head was down. i'm looking at him just grinning. yeah I'm like, man, if there was ever a photo pass photographer, this would have been the one to get, you know? It was so good. Like getting hypes from friends and family was awesome. It was as good or maybe better than everybody being there. Right. Because I could hear them. Yeah. Like they could I could hear their message. Instead of it being a ah ah flash by,
00:19:37
Speaker
Or me feeling like I needed to stop and hug somebody on the side of the road or whatever. It just played in my ear. Yeah. They could be at home, you know, whatever. I mean, obviously seeing somebody would be awesome at the race, right? Yeah. It was it was super awesome. Like, thank you for pulling that together.
00:19:51
Speaker
You're welcome. That meant a lot. I know I talked you into staying at home. I was like, no, please don't please don't hang out in this part of town. right ray where Please don't be freezing for the few hours that I'm out there. So the fact that you like took that and plussed it up like times 10 was really great. Well, I'm glad you liked it.
00:20:07
Speaker
I really did. The Holler Hype during a race is the first time I've used it during a race. I really liked it because it made the the race go by really fast. Yeah, yeah, yeah. Because I was getting all those from you. But then I got those from some of our friends in the Rise and Run community because they were sending me holler hypes as well. Right. I asked a question. This is my first time to like in the little description. I said I was going to do this sometime and I actually did it on this one. Yeah. I asked a question. I asked our would you rather that I always ask. I always ask. I asked the would you rather run Main Street or medals. Right. Yeah. Or get a medal. Yeah. I asked that question. asked everybody who comes on the podcast. Anyway, I asked it.
00:20:45
Speaker
You want to know the results? Sure. Tell me. Seven. i got seven answers. Okay. To that question. Some people, they gave me hype, which is awesome, but no answer. and So anyway, i got seven. What do you, what do you guess? How many people said metals? How many people said main street? What a ratio do you think?
00:21:03
Speaker
um I think six people said Main Street and one person said medal. Really? Four to three in favor of Main Street. So Main Street's still winning the the ah the thing. But... um I got three people out there that are like me. Well, that's good. Anyway, so that was fun. The Holler Hype really made the race a lot more just... I felt like I wasn't doing it alone.
00:21:26
Speaker
Yeah. And I do races with you, which is really great. Yeah. And you weren't a part of this one, right? Yeah. And so while I was climbing those hills, those digital friends out there... Yes....friends from the distance really helped.
00:21:38
Speaker
I don't have anything else that I loved about the race other than they gave out apple pie at the end. Okay. Cool. Oh, and they give you a bag... Yes, you did love the bag. It's very smart. It's not the bag that I loved. Oh, It's the idea of the bag. I cross the finish line, water bottle, bag, like a paper sack yeah with handles.
00:22:00
Speaker
And then it was whatever, Powerade, banana, metal. ah They gave us a Mylar kind of looking thing. Yeah. And apple pie and granola bars and all this stuff. And you had somewhere to put it. I had somewhere to put it. I'm like, Disney.
00:22:14
Speaker
Disney. This is like, you know what it could be? It could be those um race back, the um gear check bags. That's all it needs to be. It doesn't need to be fancy. yeah you're You're printing six million of those. Just give us some of those. yeah Anyway, those are the things I liked about the race. Good.
00:22:29
Speaker
So other than the hills, anything else that you didn't love? I almost died. on a you know those reflector turtle things yes uh and our our friend kristin just talked about this yeah this week's episode of the podcast about right talking about don't know how that came up but she was talking about how on a disney course she's she tripped on one of those reflector turtles and actually went down yes i had that just i mean literally on the heels yeah of her saying that story on this one there was a street in atlanta they paved over the turtles and
00:23:01
Speaker
Great. So you couldn't see them. Yeah. But you could feel them for sure. That's great. Like I couldn't see it. And I just ran my, literally my ankle twisted on it. You know I mean? Like I went and I was like almost, I mean, I'm talking six inches from the ground with my hands out, both hands out tripping, you know, like a, like a football player being tackled. You know what mean? Like almost on my face yes and fortunately caught myself. So that was my least favorite. Super. And the streets, like the streets are streets, right? So kind of like that turtle thing or whatever. Right. so At some point, someone shortcutted that process or missed the turtles or whatever, and they just didn't. where But there's like a million potholes yeah in Atlanta. You have to be very, very, very careful yeah when you're when you're running the streets. Yeah. um So that's probably it.
00:23:48
Speaker
The photos that you that they take at the Atlanta races are never great. I got a good one at the 10-miler, one good one at the 10-miler back in October. um I didn't get any good ones from this race. I mean, therere they are photos. yeah That's what they are. They're just like, oh, that's me in a photo. Maybe it's the photographer in me. Like half them are like slightly out of focus yeah or whatever, or it's just not good like...
00:24:11
Speaker
composition. Does that make sense? yeah So I have decided I'm never going to complain about the Disney photo pass anymore yeah because yes, there races where you don't get very many photos or they got you making a funny face like that kind of stuff happens. But the quality of the photo yes is always good. It's always good. You know, like they they have the lighting right and you know, the photographer's coming up. This was people sitting in like a lawn chairs Right. With no signage of any kind. This has been all of our Atlanta race experiences. Yeah. Signage of any kind. No indication that they're an actual race photographer. Right. Just someone with a camera. Yeah. And it's always too late by the time you see them. Yeah. And then unfortunately, the photos are just never spectacular. Yeah. It's a bummer.
00:24:56
Speaker
I know. So that's something didn't like about it. But this, again, wasn't a race that I was like in costume or anything. So it's not like I needed the photos. But you know, you like it. It's still fun have a good photo. Oh, you love walking away with a photo and be like, this is that time I ran the Thanksgiving Day half. Right. Yeah. Right. Yeah. And so I will say their marketing photos they take for Atlanta races are so good. Super good. Yeah.
00:25:18
Speaker
Like whenever I see them online, I'm like, wait a minute. Yeah. I don't have photos like that. Where was that photographer? You know what mean? It must be like a different team. Yeah. You know? All right. That's a side tangent. Maybe I'll cut it out of the podcast or maybe not. I don't know.
00:25:30
Speaker
Okay. We'll see. what What other questions do you have? How was it coming into the finish? Oh, yeah. We asked this a lot. I had a good time because it was flat. Yeah. Well, that's good. At least the end was flat. it was flat. and And I appreciated that. Yeah. um What I liked about that was because of that long, slow climb. And I think I talked about this on another race, too, where you've pushed it for so long that now when you're on flat ground, your body is in like this like...
00:25:56
Speaker
at least for me or whatever, like push mode. Right. So the flat seems way easier. Yeah, yeah. So I came in i came in pretty... Guns blazing?
00:26:06
Speaker
Yeah, unfortunately. I didn't mean to. Oh, I do have another story about the finish. So I'm coming in Hills are done. I've got one of my like... like hype songs yes thank you hype songs on and maybe that's why i was running so fast too because it was yeah it's a good one it was my good one right yeah so it's like i mean just bang mean it's just i'm slamming right and like i'm i'm keeping pay like i'm just i'm just doing good right and i get one last hype from you
00:26:39
Speaker
And you start it with, it wouldn not yeah it wouldn't be a run Disney race. with No, I said it wouldn't be a half marathon. wouldn't be a half marath run Disney half marathon without this good tune or something like that. And you had the audacity.
00:26:55
Speaker
To play the Shakira song that they play at every run Disney race from Zootopia. know it's your favorite. hate that song. And I hate that they use it every day at run Disney. And you played it and then you you pulled your best Carissa Holloway impersonation. And you're like, go go, go, go, go. And you're like, oh my gosh, the cheer. It was so good. But it was like the holler hype dipped my music, didn't i stop my music. So you could still hear it. Yes. So my hype music is still going in the background. Now I hear Shakira from Zootopia on top of it with you.
00:27:32
Speaker
literally pulling your best Carissa impression. Anyway, I don't know if I can play it on the podcast because I think I'll get like flagged for copyright infringement. You know what I mean? But man, I would love to because I'm literally sitting there and what I should have done was laughed it off and been like, ha ha, you know, like that's funny. I was so mad because I'm like, you're interrupting my song and you can't skip a hike.
00:27:54
Speaker
You know what I mean? You can't, there's nothing you can do about And then you just let the Shakira song play. Yeah. All the way through the rest of the 30 seconds. And I have to listen to both songs at the same time.
00:28:04
Speaker
In my defense, the tracker thing from the Atlanta track company, like, or whatever. Yeah. It did not show that you were at the very end. It showed you still had like a mile left. And so that's why I was like, oh, I'll play it now. Yes. If I hadn't known you were like finishing, I would not have played it. could see the finish Oh, God. would never have sent it if I hadn't known. And I was running hard. Yeah.
00:28:26
Speaker
And you, you and I don't, we aren't prank people. like We don't play pranks on each other. And I was like, I cannot believe she just did this. never would have sent it if I hadn't known you were that close to the finish. You sent another good hype too. I guess I should add this to my things I loved about the race. You sent another good one. And it actually was pretty close to about a mile out from the end. You're like, Hey, you're about a mile out from the end. And what what did you, you said something about the choir. Oh, I, because every time we see the choir at Epcot, you're like, we're almost there. almost at the end. And I'm like,
00:28:54
Speaker
no we're not you liar we still have like three-fourths of a mile or something the choir is the end and it's never quite as close as you know so i was just giving you our time like the choir is there which means the end is right around the corner yeah j and i still had quite a ways to go that's pretty funny yeah so that was that was finish line it was once i got shakira out of my head everything was it was good everything was good um would you consider doing this race again Probably not.
Final Thoughts and Recommendations
00:29:21
Speaker
One and done for you? Yeah. Yeah. Interestingly, I think that's what most people that I've talked to have said as well. Yeah. You know, they're like, oh, I did that once. Yeah. And I don't regret doing the race. Right. The medal is beautiful. The experience is great. I got a cool shirt that says Atlanta Track Club on it. Uh-huh.
00:29:38
Speaker
Don't regret it in any possible way. Checklist complete. Yeah. Of all these Atlanta races we did this year, we did three. Actually, we did four, but the three that count in the peach triple peach series, I would do the Thanksgiving Day.
00:29:51
Speaker
They're not Thanksgiving Day. The 4th of July. That's one. Yeah, that's I would do that again. I do that one every year. Yeah. Yep. Do that. 45 bucks for registration. Right. yeah Yeah. I do that all day long. Yeah, you know totally. This one didn't have anything for me, not because it was a bad race. didn't have anything for me where I'm like, okay, this is an annual tradition at this Yeah, point totally. I did enjoy the 10 miler, but this one, of of all the ones we've done, yeah falls at the bottom of the list. Yeah.
00:30:15
Speaker
Would you recommend it? And if so, for who?
00:30:21
Speaker
No, if you need a proof of time. Definitely not. Yeah. No, if you are looking for a PR, I would say yes. If you're the half anyway, and you could do the 5k as a turkey trot or whatever. yeah But yes, if you and some friends or family would ever want to do something on Thanksgiving morning. If you are a runner or you've never done a half marathon or whatever, actually, I'm taking that I'm like, you would recommend on that for the first half? No, I was thinking like camaraderie wise. I think I saw a lot of people enjoying the race together. Right. And I think what they were enjoying was it was Thanksgiving. Yeah. Yeah.
00:30:57
Speaker
All the signs on the side of the road were Thanksgiving themed, you know, yeah like hurry up, the turkey's burning, you know, right yeah all the, you know, this is a lot of work for an apple pie. All the signs were Thanksgiving themed. So that was fun. So I think if you're going to do it with people, yes. Right. If it's your first half marathon, I'm going to say a hard no.
00:31:15
Speaker
Yeah. Because you might never run again. Right. If that makes any sense sense. Like our first half marathon was a Disney one. Yeah. And so then we got addicted to it because it was so much fun. that Even though this one, like other subsequent races haven't been as fun, we know how fun it can be. Right. Right. Right. And so this, if this is your first experience and you come home and you're like, ah, that kind of just stunk. Yeah.
00:31:43
Speaker
I mean, if you're that guy that was sitting on the side of the road with his hands on his knees throwing up on the side of the road, I bet that guy doesn't want to do this ever again. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. Run ever again. Right. Yeah. So if you're going to do the triple peach, you have to do it. Right. Right. And the triple peach is cool.
00:31:56
Speaker
The medals are great. Yeah. It gives you something to look forward to for over several months. So the triple peach is, is, is very cool. You do the three races. If you're looking for just a half marathon, maybe not. yeah We host a lot of them in Atlanta, in the Atlanta area yeah that I have enjoyed significantly more than this one. Totally. Now, if you love vibe and you love 10,000 people running on Thanksgiving day and all that, this is your race.
00:32:22
Speaker
Cause it, I mean, it had that cool party vibe. Yeah. You know, the finish line was a big party. Yeah. DJs and all the stuff. So if you like that. And you don't mind hills. And I'm telling you that I think that's the big deterrent is, is, or maybe if you're cool with walking the hills.
00:32:37
Speaker
Yep. Yeah. If you're not going for any sort of time but you know i think what i'm having a hard time with is like the streets were rough as well so like i was ah alertly my mind was on my footsteps the whole time because the streets were dangerous right if that makes sense yes so i just don't know i i really enjoy doing the race i don't know if the payoff is there yeah because you're not going to pr well you could pr it you know what i mean but it's gonna be a hard one to do that on you know um And I don't know.
00:33:08
Speaker
I don't have a solid answer to would you recommend it. Cool. I think I'm going to lean no. Okay. I think I'm leaning no. That does not mean I had a bad experience.
00:33:18
Speaker
It just means I have like 10 other races I'd suggest before this one. Correct. Yes. Easy one Like easier, not non-Disney ones. Yeah. Anyway. Okay. Any other questions?
00:33:30
Speaker
Nope. Okay. You want to do it next year? No. Absolutely not. no I will do the 4th of July race with you again. yeah For sure. one Okay.
00:33:41
Speaker
Well, you don't have any other questions. We'll wrap this bonus episode up. I mean, thanks for telling us about this race. Thanks for asking good questions. And thanks for the Holler Hypes. You're welcome. Holler Hypes made the race for me. If you didn't get anything else out of this episode, you need to go download Holler Hype.
00:33:55
Speaker
That is correct. And join the Rise and Run group because it's an amazing thing. is fun. We keep talking about it because it's just so good. It makes all my runs better now. Yeah. Awesome. Hopefully you guys enjoyed this bonus episode where we're just talking about races that are non-Disney ones. And hopefully if you're out there doing simulation for Dopey or Marathon or anything this weekend, this was some extra distraction. Yeah. You're out there running those long miles. Join us for a main episode. Of course, we release those every Wednesday morning. Join us for our next main episode this upcoming week. Thanks so much for listening. We'll catch you out there for one more run.
00:34:36
Speaker
Thanks for joining us for this episode of One More Run, the podcast. If you like what we're up to, be sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel and follow us on Instagram. You can find links to all of that at AJandErica.com.