I got into running after having a conversation with my father on my 30th birthday. I asked him for advice about entering my 30s. He said I needed to start forming good habits because bad ones were going to be harder to break as I got older.
He didn’t explicitly tell me what to do but I decided to start living a more active, health-conscious lifestyle. At the time I didn’t really like going to the gym, or paying for it. I figured running was a good way to stay in shape… since it was free.
Ben Gray
Ben Gray
First I’d just run up and down Marietta Street, where my apartment was located at the time, until I got tired. Then, my friend Derek, a.k.a. “Whiteboy D,” who lived down the street and was getting into running, started inviting me to go with him. We’d run once a week, then we added another day, running through Georgia Tech’s campus. Next thing I knew we were running up and down Kennesaw Mountain every Saturday morning.
After a couple of years, I formed a routine where I’d run on my own once or twice a week. During this time another friend of mine we call “Senor Kaos” started a run club that became known as Movers & Pacers. Running with this group every Sunday lured me more into running.
I used to be the first finisher all the time when running. Then guys like Shannon Booker and Eric Campbell started coming around and showing me I had room to improve, which I appreciate to this day. They continue to motivate me because they are proof of Black men remaining active and getting stronger as we all get a little older. Also, seeing other people running and supporting each other, while making new friends and connections, was very helpful in adopting running as a lifestyle.
As my friends noticed how much I was running, they began asking if I was going to run in the AJC Peachtree Road Race but I was clueless as to what it actually was. I’d seen the billboard advertisements around town but I thought it was an invite-only race for professional runners trying to win some money or go to the Olympics.
When I actually looked into it, nothing about it sounded appealing. It was on the Fourth of July, usually the hottest day of the year, and I have to pay for it? No, I’m good.
Plus, I wasn’t familiar with race distances. So hearing “10K” sounded like 10 miles to me. Then when I saw news reports saying there would be 30,000-plus people out there running, it made me think I was just signing up to lose a race and come in 24,318th place. But in 2017 I decided to give Peachtree a shot.
Ben Gray
Ben Gray
This came after months of educating myself, entering smaller races and even running my first half-marathon. As I got better and more informed, the thought of running Peachtree didn’t feel so daunting.
The first year actually went very well. When I picked up my bib I was surprised to learn that my 5K times were good enough to get me in the A Wave corral, at the front of the pack. I finished the race in 45 minutes. When I crossed the finish line a volunteer gave me a flier saying I was a “Top 1000″ finisher and I’d won a free beer mug. That felt great, until days later when I heard volunteers actually messed up that year and gave those papers out too early, so I probably wasn’t the top finisher I thought I was. I still kept the beer mug.
When I ran my next Peachtree in 2019, I qualified for the A Wave again. This time I noticed runners wearing bibs with numbers and no alphabets, and bibs with just their first names. After asking around I learned those were seeded and elite runners. I did some research and it became clear I had no chance in hell of becoming either, especially after I finished a minute slower than last time.
I didn’t run another Peachtree until 2022. I did OK, shaving two minutes from my previous time, but I felt like I could get better. I got into running longer distances and training for my first full marathon. By the time I showed up to the 2023 Peachtree I was strong enough to earn a seeded placement.
Ben Gray
Ben Gray
I can’t even lie: Being at the front with the seeded Lamborghinis, starting right behind the elite Ferraris, was a cool feeling. It also felt great being up there with a lot of my Atlanta Run Club teammates. Marathon training with them, over the previous months, unlocked another level in me that made me more than ready for Peachtree. I was also extra-motivated to run fast because my Peachtree Road Race t-shirt design made it to the final round of voting.
Maurice Garland
Maurice Garland
I did pretty well and finished in under 40 minutes, meaning I can be seeded again this year. The funny thing is, in doing that I actually earned the Top 1000 finisher cup outright and didn’t get one from the volunteers. Maybe I beat them there?
I’ll be 44 years old when I run in my fifth Peachtree this summer and I feel like a stronger runner. But I also feel like a more joyful runner. Leading up to now, there were times I’d pressure myself to finish a race in a certain time or try winning a medal. While it feels great to run faster, meet goals and win stuff, not every run or race has to be about that. Sometimes it’s just about going out and having a good time, and appreciating being in your body.
Ben Gray
Ben Gray
As I grow to understand that, I’m still hoping more of my friends and family who I invite to run with me know that too. Most times my invites get declined because they think I want to outrun them (I don’t) or that they are going to hold me up (they’re not). I just want them to feel what I feel when I’m running, and for them to experience some of the benefits and lessons I’ve collected along the way.
2023 AJC Peachtree Road Race: FULL COVERAGE
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