PEOPLE
On the road again for the Peachtree Road Race By Mark Woolsey Bill Thorn is part of an exclusive club with no dues but plenty of cachet. He’s one of 110 runners who finished the first Peachtree Road Race in 1970. Both the race and Atlanta have seen huge changes over the past half century. But Thorn, 90, is still plugging. He’s run — or more recently walked — them all, and he plans to take art in this year’s 52nd edition of the city’s signature road race. For the inaugural Peachtree, the field was measured in the dozens, the course differently configured, runners shared the streets with traffic and in what now sounds like heresy, there were no T-shirts for finishers. Thorn’s 2021 race day will also be vastly altered. He’ll walk virtually in his Tyrone, Ga., hometown and use a specialized walker. Family members will closely shadow him to watch for
FORMER SAVANNAH RIVER SITE & ATOMIC WORKERS
At top, Bill Thorn celebrates at the finish line for the 50th Peachtree Road Race. Below, Randy Stroud competes in an Atlanta Track Club event. (Photos courtesy Atlanta Track Club.)
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JUNE 2021 | AtlantaSeniorLife.com
any problems. As to why he’s hanging in, he says, “I don’t know. If you can figure it out please tell me,” before adding, “I know that when I quit anything fully, you know you’re on your way out and heading downhill after that.” Thorn won’t be braving heartbreak or any other hill this year. But other seniors will tackle the grueling stretch near Piedmont Atlanta Hospital. They’ll
celebrate life, friends and family and Independence Day, bolster their aerobic health and in in some cases, build on consecutive years of participation. The 2021 Atlanta JournalConstitution Peachtree Road Race is number 49 for Cobb County resident Randy Stroud, who is 66. “I like competition and even at my age still like to run Atlanta Track Club races. I have a [Peachtree] streak going and I want to keep
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