This event has turned into a real yearly powerhouse. It's a great lead-up to the Atlanta Half on Thanksgiving, and provides a fun challenge for all involved. This year they even had the official Cardiac Hill Challenge, a 1 mile stretch at mile 7. Not only do participants get a total race time, they also get a separate time up Cardiac Hill. This is a really nice measure of training and improvement, especially if you've been focusing on some hill and speedwork. The fastest 100 people up the hill get a commemorative mug. Very cool even though I'm no where near fast enough...yet!

A few things to note:
-This course is very challenging if you haven't been hill training. Around every turn felt like a new hill. This race is arguably more difficult than the actual Atlanta Half on Thanksgiving. This also means it's a GREAT training race leading up to the half.
-Parking at Atlantic Station can be a nightmare. Plan to get there at least 1.5 hr in advance. Whatever time you think you need to be there, get there even earlier. As long as you plan appropriately I don't think it's a problem. In the past, there has been a lot of traffic getting in and out of AS. I arrived very early to volunteer so I scored a very good parking spot. It was also very easy for me to leave at the finish. However, many participants this year did not have the same luck. It's an issue that the track club is working on and also gave participants fair warning about the situation.
-Swag: the medal and shirt are both really nice. The ATC now works exclusively with Mizuno so the quality of product is very good. Unfortunately, the sizing is still a work in progress. ATC is trying to make consistent sizing throughout all their races but that has led to oversized unisex shirts. Many women need to trade into a smaller size this year, myself included.

HAPPY RUNNING! HF#8431 MM#11875