Boomeragnar Runners Finish Strong at Diabetes Dash in Atlanta

It was a perfect morning for a race, despite the unusually late 9:00 a.m. start.  While the field was not overly strong, my Boomeragnar team member, Phil Finley, and I recognized a few bambinos in the field with muscular physiques that made our baby boomer statures looks somewhat … dated.  While both Phil and I recall running the race in 2007, we couldn’t recall the extent of hills that attempted to hold us hostage inside the walls of Atlanta’s most significant cemetery.  In typical fashion, Phil and I lined up at the front, eager to get out early.  Well, Phil was eager to get out.  I was planning to stay nearby.  And so the majority of the race went pretty much that way, with Phil opening up the first mile at 5:50.  I was seconds behind, attempting to hold onto last night’s pasta.  In that first mile, we faced a formidable opponent, but the cemetery’s hills lined up with what else but ghosts and spirits, seemed to slow him down.  Somewhere along mile two, a young buck pulled by me … not alongside, but swiftly by me and eventually by Phil.  He led the rest of the way and finished first in 19:08, an impressive finish given the long, frequent hills.  In the end, I grabbed some of Phil’s wind and luckily sped up on a downhill.  We finished second and third, respectively, just one second apart.  It was a great day for the dead and the living.