Chapter 43

The actual race wasn’t too bad compared to the River Run, which was half again longer. The problem was the heat and humidity—on the Fourth of July in Atlanta, it was fairly warm by eight o’clock in the morning and very humid.

There were people handing out bottles of water at various spots along the way. Of considerably more importance were the fire hydrants that had a series of spray nozzles attached to them. They were spraying a cloud of water across the runners, which provided a welcome, if somewhat brief, respite from the heat.

At one point, when the street started up a long hill, Charles said between breaths, “This section is called Cardiac Hill because there have been more than a couple of heart attacks here during the long history of the race.”

“Thanks for telling me that… just kidding.”