Fathers Day 4 Miler Race

Last Saturday, the day before Fathers Day, my two daughters, Ashlee and Payton, and I ran the Atlanta Track Club Fathers Day 4 Miler.  We are members of the ATC so this was a free race for us and so it wasn't a big deal when we decided to just run it as opposed to racing it.

Both Ashlee and Payton have been dealing with borderline injuries and had an official time trial race for XC less than a week later so I suggested that they not do it.  They both still wanted to do it, so I told them that as long as they ran it like any other training run, and didn't race it we could go ahead with our plans.  They understood and agreed.

The Fathers Day 4 Miler started right outside of Turner Field, ran around the Atlanta Zoo, and finished up on the warning track right beside first base inside Turner Field.  This was very cool, however, the one thing that would have made it better would have been if they let us finish by sliding into home plate.......  I am guessing the Braves wouldn't go for that, plus there would have been a lot of injured old people (like me) if they would have tried :)

The course seemed to be either going uphill or downhill the entire time.  The hills were not bad, but just non-stop.  We took off and kept to plan and started easy.  As for pacing we were running an 8:30 pace at the 1 mile mark, and dropped it down to around an 8:15 pace for the two middle miles.  The last mile we slowed down to around a 9:00 pace because my daughter Ashlee was starting to hurt and I didn't want her to end up with an injury because we pushed through it.  At that point I told Payton to go finish the race and we would see her at the end.

The finish was really cool - as I mentioned we finished on the warning track at about first base.  We came in through a service tunnel and came out onto the field @ the first base outfield corner.  They didn't allow us on the grass which is understood.  After finishing we were corralled down past home plate and water was at the 3rd base dugout area.  They sent us up to the main concession level for food and further fluids.

Even though we ran it easy, we still did respectable.  Payton, who went on ahead during the last mile, finished 3rd in her age group with 32:29 time.  I am certain she could have come in first if we would have raced it.  Ashlee finished strong with a 34:12 and 4th in her age group.  Second and third in her age group looked to be sisters and were only 14 seconds in front of her.... if we had only known :)  My official time was 34:13 which was way down in the standings for my age group.  I am guessing if I would have raced it I may have been able to break 30....... maybe!  Official results

The ATC allowed members to purchase a shirt even though it was not provided for those running free as ATC members.  I opted not to because we have enough shirts already.  I did however feel bad when Ashlee mentioned that she would have liked one since it was her first road race ever.  I hadn't even thought of it that way, and if I would have I would have bought her one for sure...... kinda bummed!

All in all it was a great race, I think it was organized and executed really well.  I think it would have been nice if they could have flattened out some of the hills for the race, but I do understand that may have taken a few extra days of planning :)  It was awesome to run in a Fathers Day race (even though it was the day before) with my two daughters.  It was even cooler to be beat by both of them :)  I will definitely do it again, and I am sure my daughters would say the same thing (especially if they can beat me by even more)

Did you run any special races/runs with your kids or father for Fathers Day?  What about Mothers day?

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4 comments:

  1. what a great way to spend father's day, running with your kids....maybe you can contact the race officials and see if they have any extra shirts to sell....post-race they might even give you a discount....

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  2. I agree, what an awesome way to spend Father's Day.

    And I had the same thought, perhaps you could contact the race organizations about getting your daughter a shirt after all.

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  3. Thanks for stopping by, reading, and commenting. I may try to get with the race organization but it is the ATC.... probably one of the biggest race organizations out there so may be very difficult to find the right person :)

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  4. what a great way to spend father's day, running with your kids....maybe you can contact the race officials and see if they have any extra shirts to sell....post-race they might even give you a discount....

    ReplyDelete