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Andy Wilson (left) took part in the inaugural ING event last year, completing the 26.2-mile run with friends. (Photo courtesy of Andy Wilson)
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HOME > COMMUNITY > SPORTS
By: MATT HENNIE
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Scores of gay and lesbian runners will be among the 15,000 participants expected in the second running of the ING Georgia Marathon & Half Marathon late next month. Their reasons for taking part in such a grueling event — 13.1 miles for the half marathon and twice that for the marathon — are as varied as their running shoes.
Some runners use the ING as a step in their training for triathlons later this year, while others enjoy the picturesque settings the race offers as it moves through Atlanta neighborhoods. And then there’s just a streak of pure competitive spirit that drives others.
“Running for me started out as a way to stay in shape,” said Andy Wilson, who ran the full ING Marathon in 2007, the first year of the event. “But more than anything, it is the challenge. If it’s something that is a challenge and requires me to be disciplined, I am going to do it. It also allows me to eat anything I want, which is a lovely thing.”
Wilson, 34, will tackle the ING’s half marathon this year as a training component for a triathlon in late April in Fort Lauderdale. An experienced runner with five marathons under his belt, he wanted the challenge of improving his swimming and cycling to compete in a triathlon.
“After running a few marathons, I wanted to give the body a break and try other things,” he said.
Mary Romestant, who retired from running marathons after the ING event last year, is shifting her focus to the half marathon next month. Taking part in races with double-digit mileage came in response to a challenge from her girlfriend. After running in the Atlanta Half Marathon over Thanksgiving in 2004, Romestant was hooked.
“I went from not running really ever to running a bunch of marathons,” said Romestant, 39. “Once you’ve gotten past a certain distance in your training, there is just no turning back. Running is very generous.”
The challenge of such a lengthy event drew Mike Spencer to run his first marathon as part of Gay Games I, the historic event in San Francisco in 1982. He’s run four more 26.2-mile races since and set his sights on the ING’s half marathon last year and again next month.
“It was new last year and had a lot of hype, so I wanted to do it,” said Spencer, who lists his age as mid-50s. “It comes at a good time of the year. It’s right after Christmas when you start training, so you can shed those extra pounds you gained.”
The ING Half Marathon will be the first for Michelle Martin, who started running through her Decatur neighborhood in the mid-1990s as a way to pick up the pace of her daily walks. She’s constantly seeking new physical challenges and is using the upcoming race as a tune-up for a triathlon this summer.
“I’ve never done a half marathon before and this seems like a very good time to do it,” said Martin, 58. “I do a lot of training inside and running enables me to get outside and be out and in the sun, wind and rain. It just keeps me in touch with the seasons.”
ING, which sponsors marathons across the globe, launched its Atlanta event last year, selling out registration slots four weeks before the event and becoming the second-largest inaugural combination marathon and half marathon event in the world. More than half of the 15,000 slots for the race next month are gone, with about a third of runners opting for the marathon.
Matt Hennie blogs on Atlanta’s gay sports scene at www.gaytlsports.com.
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