Georgia > Augusta Chronicle Half Marathon Augusta,
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Date
Sunday, November 1, 2009
Event
Details
The home of golf's annual springtime Masters Tournament hosts its
inaugural 13.1-mile road race in the fall of 2008 with the running of
the Augusta Chronicle Half Marathon, which is named for the city's
flagship
local daily newspaper and takes runners on a course through some of the
Garden City's most scenic areas, showing off its wide,
tree-lined streets, the architecture of its restored and revitalized
downtown areas and its authentic Southern charm.
Though the race is technically a point-to-point and not a true
out-and-back course, its starting line and finish line lie just a
stone's throw from one another downtown. Runners will start the race at
the north end of Augusta Commons Park on Reynolds Street,
and head immediately down Reynolds to the intersection with 13th
Street, where they turn left and head south. Through this section of
the course, the terrain is flat along the downtown blocks and city
streets, and remains so as runners continue along 13th underneath the
Calhoun Expressway, and on to the intersection with R.A. Dent
Boulevard.
Runners then bear to the right on R.A. Dent for a brief stretch and
then turn onto Laney Walker Boulevard, which they follow for a slightly
longer stretch that includes a long, steady, gradual uphill towards
Druid Park Avenue. The course follows Druid Park briefly before turning
onto Central Avenue, which is one of Augusta's true scenic treasures,
both for the grassy, tree-lined median that divides the directions of
traffic as well as for the beautiful homes, many of which are many
decades old, liniing the street. This section also features a long,
steady, gradual uphill however, so it's a blessing to have plenty of
postcard-perfect scenery to distract during the long, gradual climb.
The stretch along Central Avenue is followed by a brief tour of
Highland Avenue, Walton Way and Milledge Avenue, all of which show of
much of what Augusta is known for to anyone who's visited the city for
the Masters -- majestic homes that sit at the end of large, lush green
lawns dotted with magnolia and Georgia pine trees reaching toward the
sky. Runners will almost forget they're running a 13.1-mile race on the
stretch through this area, though it will help that you're more than
half-way through the course at this point, which is followed by a run
through the neighborhoods around Lake Olmstead, where you can also see
the baseball stadium that's the home of the Class A-level Augusta
Greenjackets minor league baseball team.
After runners make their way around Lake Olmstead, they hit the home
stretch of the race, a section that takes them first uphill and then
downhill along the city's Calhoun Expressway, which leads back into
downtown. This stretch empties them onto Greene Street, leading to the
finish line back at the Augusta Commons Park downtown.
Race
Weather & Climate
Located along the waters of the Savannah River, which marks the border
between Georgia and South Carolina, the city of Augusta typically sees
mild to moderately cool weather conditions in the fall, which follows
what are usually very hot and humid summers. In October, average
monthly
temperatures range between 76°F and 50°F, while
rainfall totals average around 3.2 inches for the month.
Fees
2008 fees:
$30 if registered before July 15, 2008
$35 between July 16 - October 20
$60 at the weekend race expo
No race day registration
Registration
Registration for the fall 2009 running of the Augusta Chronicle
Half Marathon is not yet open. Please check back later for updated
information on how to sign up for this race in 2009.
Ever run the course that will be used for the Augusta Chronicle Half
Marathon? Share
your impressions and read fellow runners' stories
and tips for the event.
