Archive for the ‘Matthew Borenstein’ Category

I had this old poster from a previous AJC Peachtree Road Race. It read: “So hot even the pavement runs.” It’s going to be one of those days tomorrow.

It’s going to be hot. We knew that going in, and even as the temperature in the city cools from the record highs of last week, the heat will play a huge role in this year’s AJC Peachtree Road Race.

Here’s the first thing to know: The Atlanta Track Club said in an e-mail to runners this morning that the race will begin in Alert Code Yellow (more on the color codes here). That means a moderate alert, “less than ideal conditions for the start time on Wednesday morning.”

“We encourage our participants to take it easy and be prepared for conditions to possibly get worse. We ask our runners to pay attention to the Event Alert System along the course as conditions change.

“Please utilize the water stops that will be available along the course on both sides of the street as well as the cooling stations. Hydrate prior to the …

Continue reading No surprise: It’s going to be hot »

I have this friend who runs one race a year – the AJC Peachtree Road Race – and maybe a second one in the neighborhood. That doesn’t keep him from complaining about one certain aspect of the AJC Peachtree that causes me to refute him every time. It’s about the world famous t-shirts (see the finalists here and more here).

He wants the race to start giving out performance/moisture-wicking shirts after the race. I say no – keep them cotton. And I compliment the Atlanta Track Club for doing just that.

A cotton shirt can be worn, shown off really, around town without feeling weird in public. It can be worn to places other than a gym. It won’t quickly become just another one of those workout shirts. It remains a shirt to be worn to so many different places, not just on July 4.

Almost every other race in the city now gives out performance shirts. They pile up in a drawer, ready to be worn for a run, but no time else. After a while (running more than one race a year), you …

Continue reading Keep the AJC Peachtree shirt cotton. Thanks. »

“Distance runners take care of their own. I knew if I was on that track, anybody would do the same for me.”The quote came from a story about the last-place finishers of the Ohio high school 3,200-meter state championship. The next-to-last place runner fell on the final lap. Meghan Vogel, who had earlier won the state 1,600-meter championship, was struggling in her second championship race. In last, she saw Arden McMath collapse ahead of her. Vogel stopped, picked McMath up and carried her across the line.It was a great story that deservedly made the national news. I thought about the quote above from Vogel, and it seems true to me. When you’re out on the road, your fellow runners — going through the same highs and lows; successes and pain — are also looking out for you. Just look around as you climb Cardiac Hill then cross the finish line. The support will be there.The AJC covered new safety features of this year’s AJC Peachtree Road Race earlier this month, but the …

Continue reading ‘Distance runners take care of their own’ »

I woke up this morning to find out it’s National Running Day (who knew, but I guess there is a day for everything). So to everyone out there reading this, I wish you a happy National Running Day.

I wasn’t planning on doing much in terms of running today — I ran pretty hard Sunday and Monday — but since it’s a running holiday, I must. It’s looking like an easy three miles around the neighborhood to celebrate, but that could change between now and then. Any plans for you out there? There is a pretty big group getting together to run in Peachtree City to celebrate. Other ideas: Call up some friends to go for a run, find a group, take your dog along with you or just go alone. Hopefully, the holiday convinces you to get out.

Also, it’s exactly four weeks until the AJC Peachtree Road Race, a good time to check in on yourself and see how your training is going. Or if it’s not going at all, you still have some time to get some runs in, start getting into shape and acclimate yourself …

Continue reading Happy National Running Day »

The AJC Peachtree Road Race is approaching, and you need nice places to train. There’s no better place to start than with Atlanta’s PATHs, a trail system that travels throughout metro Atlanta.  Over the next few weeks leading up to July 4, we take a look at the miles of paved paths that form the PATH trail system and tell you what you need to know about using them to get ready. For more information on the PATH Foundation and to check out all the PATH trails in metro Atlanta, visit pathfoundation.org.

Nancy Creek PATH

Location: Between Dunwoody, Chamblee and Brookhaven, the PATH runs from Murphy Candler Park through Blackburn Park to Durden Drive (MAP)

Parking: At Murphy Candler Park, the closest lot to the trail is at the corner of West Nancy Creek Drive and Candler Lake West, and there are other lots at the park including near the pool. Be warned that the parking can be very busy when youth sports games are taking place. At the other end of the trail, parking is …

Continue reading Atlanta’s PATHs: Nancy Creek Trail »

The AJC Peachtree Road Race is approaching, and you need nice places to train. There’s no better place to start than with Atlanta’s PATHs, a trail system that travels throughout metro Atlanta.  Over the next few weeks leading up to July 4, we take a look at the miles of paved paths that form the PATH trail system and tell you what you need to know about using them to get ready. For more information on the PATH Foundation and to check out all the PATH trails in metro Atlanta, visit pathfoundation.org.

Chastain Park PATH

Location: Chastain Park near Buckhead (MAP)

Parking: Chastain Park red lot on Powers Ferry Road near the amphitheater. A large map of the trails is at the parking lot entrance.

About the PATH: Two 3.1 mile mostly concrete loops with some of the trail covering an asphalt side street. The two big loops are mostly the same, with a slight diversion plus there is a 1.6 mile loop that shares portions of both longer loops.

Chastain Park Path (Path …

Continue reading Atlanta’s PATHs: Chastain Park »

I had just moved back to Atlanta last year and needed a new pair of running shoes. My gold-accented New Balance 769s were done. After going through the whole process, I was down to three options.

I used to only wear gold on my feet.

One pair – the Adidas Glides – was bright neon green. The salesperson and I joked about the color, but honestly, I didn’t quite think I was ready to pull those off. I wound up liking the New Balance 890s better, and they only came with a touch of bright green around the edges.

They seemed a lot brighter when I was actually wearing them.

A friend of mine went to get new running shoes and after picking a style, ordered a normal-colored pair instead of taking home the crazy color combo the store stocked.

I must ask. What is up with shoe colors these days?

Newton just about only makes brightly colored shoes. New Balance comes out with a multi-colored version of a lot of models. People buy them (and wear them in public). Maybe you all can help me …

Continue reading These colors do run »

If I could, I would drink the entire half-gallon of chocolate milk after a run. Instead, I stick with a school lunch-sized carton of 2% chocolate milk. (Staff)

You can chug Gatorade G3, scarf down PowerBars or choose any of a number of specialized recovery products following your AJC Peachtree Road Race training runs and the race itself.

Or you can drink chocolate milk.

That’s what I do.

What’s not to like about it? One of the greatest non-alcoholic drinks in the world – up there with Milo’s sweet tea, Coke and quality root beer – provides health benefits that are perfect post run. Sign me up.

Side note: This will be my last blog about drinks for a while as I know Yvonne wrote about water a few weeks ago.

I read about chocolate milk as a post-run drink a while ago, and thought it sounded interesting. The article mentioned that chocolate milk had a good blend of proteins, carbohydrates, sodium and calories to help the body post-run. Every now and then, I would …

Continue reading Chocolate milk does a runner’s body good »

The final 1.5 miles of training have been completed. With one final lap around the lake at Murphy Candler Park this morning, I’m as trained as I’ll be for this year’s AJC Peachtree Road Race. All that’s between me and the race is a weekend of work, rest and a solid weekend of sports on TV (Wimbledon finals, Tour de France start, NASCAR race at Daytona, Braves, etc.). No more running until 7:45 a.m. Monday morning. What about for you out there? What are the weekend plans (expo, anyone) and how are you feeling a little more than 48 hours from the start – less than 48 hours for those running the race overseas?

To get you ready, there is plenty of stuff online here at ajc.com and over at the track club’s website plus there is the expo Saturday and Sunday at AmericasMart in downtown. One thing about the expo: for those that believe they were placed in the wrong start wave, there will be a Race Solutions area with Peachtree staffers that may be able to help. Take your …

Continue reading The AJC Peachtree Road Race is almost here »

I won't be the winner, but the finish is still my favorite part of the AJC Peachtree Road Race. (Photo: Curtis Compton, ccompton@ajc.com)

The question seemed simple. What’s your favorite part of the race?

Unlike most AJC Peachtree Road Race veterans, I was stumped. I threw together some lame answer then started to think (something I clearly don’t do enough of when writing for this blog). For a future topic, I was thinking what was my favorite part of the course. Then I got back to thinking about what I liked best about the race. Turns out, they are the same.

Let’s re-ask the question: What’s your favorite part of the race?

The finish (except for the year the race finished at the civic center). It’s always nice to make the turn onto 10th Street and see the finish-line banner. With six miles complete, you realize that you’re almost done. And more times than not, I am able to pass just a few people during that stretch. But more than both of those, there is nothing …

Continue reading Best part of the AJC Peachtree? The finish »