It should be illegal to wake up at 5 a.m. on a holiday.

But, we managed to roll out of bed this morning and speed down to Atlanta for the Labor Day US 10k Classic. The course went six miles up US Highway 41, which meant the road had to be shut down. They closed it about an hour before the race started and we were one of the last cars let through. We lucked out. Otherwise, I don’t know where we would have parked. As it was, we parked up the last hill from the finish line, so it wasn’t a bad walk. We knew Joe and Randy wouldn’t finish until around 9 a.m., so we set out our camping chairs and prepared for a long wait, armed with textbooks, work and a game of solitaire.

However, there were more distractions than we expected. We thought it was just a run, but there was a 10k bike race, wheelchair race and inline speed skating race. We watched and cheered as the other racers finished. The wheelchair race was impressive. I’ve never seen one before. We decided we’re going to enter my grandpa next year. 🙂

Around 28 minutes into the run, the Kenyans crossed the finish line. That speed is amazing — just more than a 4-minute mile. We were impressed.

Runners began to follow them, all staggered out. I was impressed with the number of children who raced and the number of parents who pushed their children in strollers. I know Joe’s going to be one of those when we become parents.

Then, thousands of runners grouped together headed toward the finish line. And that little boy above finished before this group. I didn’t think I’d be able to spot Joe and Randy. I was, but they came up so fast (and I had my zoom lens on because I wanted to get a picture of them running then one from behind of them crossing the finish line) that I wasn’t able to get a picture. Oh well.

They finished in about 65 minutes. We’ll get their official time when it’s posted on the race Web site. They did really well, especially since this was Randy’s first race in 8 years and his first long race.

Plans are already in the works for the next, which includes Southern Adventist University’s Southern Moonlight Shuffle 5k run/1 mile walk in October (I think I’m going to do the walk!), and the Arthritis Foundation’s Jingle Bell Run and the Silver Comet Half Marathon in December. And, of course, Joe’s running the Chickamauga Battlefield Marathon in November. The rest of the year is going to be busy for us!