GORUCK ATL 26.2 Civil War "City Ruck"

TRAINING LEAD-UP

Tuesday, May 13:

Peloton 45 min Intervals & Arms Ride with Ally Love, with 474 cal, 46% average resistance, 19.1mph, 79 cpm cadence, 154 watts

Thursday, May 15:

3 mile hike on South Main with dad at USNWC in MACV2s with a 30#R.  We wanted to see fireflies, but no luck.  It wasn't quite dark enough in the hotspot, anyways.

We stayed for a little bit of live music.

Friday, May 16:

Restorative Yoga | Gratitude & Yoga Stretch for Recovery Days with Adriene

26.2 ATL CIVIL WAR "CITY RUCK"

I didn't sign up for this until like Thursday night.  I thought about bringing my dad along for the 12 miler.  I probably would've needed to carry his weight to make sure we met the time hack, but he decided on not wanting to do it, so I signed up for the 26.2 to do solo.  He decided to come along for the drive into town, though, and would shop and explore the park while I did my event.  We used to come to ATL a lot when I was growing up.  More recently, my sister had lived there for a little while.  It was nice to have a chance to see the city again.

After check-ins, we got our hit list at 8am.  It started raining, so it was an especially good idea to take pictures of the list to have an electronic copy, in case the original got wet and disintegrated.  When I had checked the weather forecast earlier, no rain was predicted, so I hadn't prepped for this.  Fortunately, I had a gallon-sized ziplock that held my snacks for the day, so I used that as a waterproof case.

Road Warrior Pro re-upped their free trial option, so I was able to use that to optimize the list of points.  It was like riding an old bike, remembering the steps on what had to be done.  Execute these steps carefully.  Even though you're eating up event time, it's better to measure twice and cut once.

Planning

1) Update the settings for RW start point, shortest distance, round trip.

2) Enter the points, and as you do, verify that it makes sense with Google where there's a reason for any doubt.  Double-check that the number of points in the app matches the number of points on paper.

3) Optimize, figure out whether you want to go in that order or the reverse order based on exposure to sun, the need for opportunities to refit, when you might need the mental boost of lots of points in succession

4) Record the sequence on the paper copy

5) Show the map to the Cadre for rough verification, take and submit the start point selfie, and set off!

Southern Leg

I set off on a jog, stopping one last time at a portapotty in the park.  They happened to have some kind of athletic competition at the event that day, so there were porta potties around.

I set off on the greenway, one that I had been on at previous events.  They have a spongy portion of the trail, which is easier on the joints.  There were tons of runners on the greenway, even in this weather.  I was amazed by how many runners this city had.  Some were in groups.  Others were solo.

I wanted to conserve battery, even though we were required to have a power bank.  That meant not having google maps nav on the whole time.  I kept track of landmarks and found my turn, though, and ventured towards the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library.

According to the clue, we had to take a picture in front of a fountain, but it wasn't clear from satellite imagery where the fountain was.  Fortunately, I happened across it when I somewhat blindly ventured into the complex.  It definitely wasn't where I expected it to be, and it wouldn't have been clear from satellite.

After the picture, I ducked back under some cover to figure out my next leg.  We had to backtrack a little bit.  I had run into some teams coming out, and ran into some more going back out.  

It got more quiet after that, though.  I shuffled along through the town, to an old train depot.  

This "City Ruck" was different from others, because it was themed.  A few points were not related to the Civil War, but a surprising number of them were.  Even if there wasn't a direct tie-in, the land that we were on would sometimes have historic significance.

During my journey, I saw a white car with a bunch of cameras 3-4 times.  I thought it was the Google Street View car, but I later figured out it was Weimo, that would launch robotaxi services in ATL a couple months later.  

The next point was one that I had visited before, at my first ever "Star Course".

I got there as a team of guys got there.  I ended up thinking that I had to cross a railway (since I had crossed one earlier, through a sky bridge right after the train depot) and ended up going in the wrong direction right afterwards, which was embarrassing.  Fortunately, it only cost me about a block out and a block back, to get back on track.

I ran into some more teams at the next point, which was in the middle of a residential area not far from the highway.

I crossed a highway, which involved a bit of frogger, then went along more industrial parts before coming across a very long cemetery.  On the way, I called my dad to check in and let him know I was chugging along, maybe at 8 miles or so by now.

I was chasing one guy at this point... I had been ahead, then he caught up.  I passed him again during frogger, when I took a more efficient route.  He was definitely faster, though, and caught me again and kept improving his lead.

I had been wanting to go to the restroom for a while, and I finally got a chance at a tree line by an abandoned parking lot on the way to the stadium.  I ran across an old Olympic torch monument from the 1996 ATL games.

Now, it was time to go into the city center.

City Center

City Centers often have many points in quick succession.

For the statue at piedmont park, it wasn't immediately obvious to me where the statue was.  I ended up walking to the far end of the park, before backtracking to the original side but on the far end.  Fortunately, it isn't a crazy big park, but any extra steps are painful when your legs are tired.

For the stadium, I also went further than I needed to.  I could've stayed on the close side of the stadium, because I'd end up needing to backtrack, but I went to the far end and looped back around, instead.

It was a quick jaunt over to the aquarium from there.  Centennial Park is a fun place to visit.  Lots of sun exposure, though.  Many people were at the aquarium.  It would be my last stop before I headed north.

The exit out of that area was more difficult than expected and added steps, though.  My original exit point for the park had its stairway closed off due to construction.  It was physically crossable, but I didn't want to get in trouble, so I backtracked about a block to exit a different way.

While I was going under a large bridge that marked the border between city center and the northern area (in my mind), I came across my first team that had been going in the opposite direction.  It was right about at the halfway mark, mileage-wise, so they were crushing it, too.

Northern Section

My journey north started on a road with homeless people and the strong smell of urine.

There were plenty of cars on the road, so it felt safe.  It's just not one of the nicer parts of town.  It paralleled the interstate but was close to some major landmarks like the Varsity restaurant, which I haven't been to before.

I went past university buildings at some point, with international students.

I walked into Buckhead, where my sister lived for a while.  It was fun to send her pics of places we both remember.  I also called my dad again to check in, about 16 miles in.

The next point had a specific address tied to it, but nothing was at the address, which was the address to a random house.  I explored further and found an entrance to a park, but the sign didn't match the description of the sign that I needed to find.  I texted the Cadre, but he said that others had found the correct sign.  I decided to take a chance on walking half a mile to the other side of the park, to see what I'd find.  

Fortunately, it was there, but the whole thing did eat up time, when I was researching the potential places where the sign could be.  It was at least 30 minutes, between getting to the original address and finding the actual landmark.  I had even asked a couple on a walk at the other entrance, but they weren't familiar with the sign.

There was another interesting incident.  I was going through a hospital complex.  After I got past their parking garages, though, I came upon a locked gate, which was just supposed to be a normal road.  My options were to bushwhack a steep drop down where I couldn't even see what the ground looked like due to rough and thorny vegetation covering it.  Who knows what ankle-breaking hazards were in there.  Another option was to go along high grass on a little strip of vegetation between the outer side of the wall and the steep drop-off, until I made it to the main road.  The third option, which didn't seem possible at first, was to go under the fence.  I passed my ruck through first, and then I squeezed under it myself.  Not many people could've managed that!

There was a long stretch along a road that passed by different small businesses and condos.  I saw a little animal on the grass by the road.  It turns out it was a little rubber bunny, missing a limb.  It was cute but broken.  I stuck it in a hole in a nearby tree, to brighten someone else's day.

I walked through more residential areas with big houses, before making it to the northernmost point.  I saw one guy on his way back, the guy who had passed me earlier before the cemetery.  

By the tie I got to the point time, my phone battery was on its last legs, so I pulled out my power bank to charge on the go.  Another guy arrived not long after I got there.  He'd end up passing me a couple miles later.

I backtracked to get to Rhodes Hall, which I had passed nearby before.  It was good to get this on the way back, though, for a little motivational boost near the end.  Legs were hurting from the impact of all of the concrete, but the end was in sight.  I much prefer routes and cities where there are more dirt trails involved.  I had already tried to use asphalt whenever possible, but it wasn't possible most of the time.

I was back in the hustle and bustle of the city, with more people and normal commercial areas like cafes and hotels and office buildings.  I called my dad when I had about 4 miles left.

It was exciting to enter Piedmont Park again.

Piedmont Park

It is a big park, so you're close, but you still have to keep working.

On the points in the park, it helped to use Google Maps to figure out where the landmark was.  

On my way to the finish line, I did stop at a restroom, since I might not have been able to access the porta potties by the finish, and I really had to go.

When I arrived at the finish line, I was surprised to learn that I was second to finish the 26.2!  Apparently, the guy who had passed me most recently took a wrong turn somewhere and didn't arrive until some time later.  

First place finished 10 minutes faster than I did, but his total mileage ended up being 4 miles than what I did!  

I got to see one of my friends finish the 12 miler.  I didn't know she'd be there, so that was a nice surprise.  We used to co-lead PATHFINDER Horizon, which is built around the Star Course (now known as City Rucks).

I recuperated and hung out a bit.  Down below in the park, the ATL City Games, a track meet on an elevated single-lane straight platform, was going on.  I found him down there, and we watched for a few minutes before making the walk to the car and the drive home.