Atlanta Marathon 2013 - Race Recap

The Atlanta Marathon was yesterday morning and I still cannot believe I made it. This was my second full marathon (first one was Houston in January 2013). It was a true challenge. I had heard it was one of the hilliest courses, so I expected hills. I did not expect to literally climb up and waddle down hills for the entire race.

Packet Pick-up! (sweater// Zara  Shirt//J.Crew   Bag//Kate Spade) 

Overall, it was a fun course, but a very small race. Apparently last year only 3/4 of the racers even finished. While I felt more prepared than my last marathon, the race also felt much harder. Houston was pretty flat. There was almost no flat portions of this race (We gained 1764 ft in elevation and lost -1763 ft).

Our pre-race faces :P

Because of the constant hills, it was hard to get into a groove. By the end, going down was harder than going up  - My legs felt so tired and I was worried I would fall. AR was pretty sore by mile 20, so we walked for a bit and tried to stretch him out. I cannot express how thankful I am to have AR as a race partner. We run every step together, slow down when the other needs it,  and encourage each other to push it. I don't know how I would run without him.

At mile 25, we were still running up hill. This was pretty sad, but some how we crossed the finish line. My time was about the same as Houston, which I take as an improvement, considering the course was so hilly. At half I was at 2:04.

We are already discussing our next marathon (while we lay in bed in compression gear)... I probably won't run Atlanta again for a while. The Atlanta Track Club does an awesome race. Parking was easy, packet pick-up was simple, and the food was good. I just want to run something a little flatter :)

x0x0,

Hannah