Happy Fourth of July, friends! If you’re American, this is a sacred holiday. And if you’re not American, light everything around you on fire, eat some of it, let some of it explode, and you’ll be doing this holiday right.
Man, I love the Fourth so much. And it breaks my heart that this year it’ll be like the smoke that floats after fireworks, insubstantial and only a reminder of better days.
Under normal, non-COVID circumstances, I’d be somewhere in the middle of my latest running of the Peachtree Road Race right about now. A six-mile race through downtown Atlanta, it’s been around for 50 years, on July 4 of every year … except this one. I wrote in detail about what the race means, and what we’ve lost, over at Yahoo … give it a read, if you like. Short version: it’s the greatest race in the world, and it’s terrible to lose it this year.
It’s also the source of one of the great sports photos of all time, that one above that graces the cover of the December 1978 issue of Runner magazine. Taken by Atlanta photographer Chuck Rogers, it captures the scene at the finish line of that year’s Peachtree, in Piedmont Park.
There was a rumor going around that at least two of the people in that photo died from heat exhaustion, but that’s not true. The young guy standing up there in the middle is 16-year-old Tim Withington of LaGrange, Ga., and he’s the very embodiment of exhausted triumph.
This was the only shot of 36 that Rogers shot that wasn’t ruined, and it’s a beauty. Nike turned it into a poster and billboard displayed around the world, albeit with the cringeworthy title of “The Battle of Atlanta.” It was a Times Square mural, a momentary national touchstone.
You know that feeling, don’t you? Not just when you complete a race. You feel it when you get off work, when you escape the grocery store, when you finally get the kids put to bed. Or, right about now, when you just get through another damn day.
The photo was also a gift to Withington, who had turned to running to escape a difficult childhood. Bullied as a young man because of severe learning disabilities, Withington took joy in becoming an international icon, if only briefly.
There’s a sad coda to all this — it’s 2020, of course there is — in that Withington died in a construction accident in South Carolina 10 years after this photo was taken.
But this is his legacy, and it’s a fine one. Give it everything you’ve got, and then bask in what you’ve achieved. Sure, I’ll be looking like this after eating way too much grilled meat later today, but hey, achievements come in different forms.
(Source: Atlanta Track Club)
Last Call
And then at the other end of the spectrum, here, from 2017, is how I run a 10K:
No Recommendations, Street Art or Menus this week; just get on out there and enjoy America as best you can. Have a safe and happy Fourth, and we’ll see you back here next week!
-Jay
So much truth in this and your column at Yahoo. Missing running my 12th race this year, missing the blessing at the Cathedral, missing the Shepard Center, missing the incredible peaches and beer at the end.