Decatur Wins ING Marathon Neighborhood Challenge
Decatur Metro | March 26, 2010Cheryl reports on The Decatur Minute that Decatur is back on top in the ING Marathon Neighborhood Challenge, which provides cash rewards to the Atlanta neighborhoods with the most cheer along the marathon course.
The city will receive $3,000 hard cash for their first-place, orange-tinted enthusiasm. Cheryl says the winnings will be used to “jump start” a new walking program called “Walk There Decatur!”.
I really hope this means I can finally begin earning money for walking my dog. I keep telling him my time is money, but he just keeps nosing the doorknob and staring at me.
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Wow! Great day for Decatur today! Nice work.
I think the only thing you get for walking your dog is his/her thanks and love for you. Plus a little exercise!
I think you two are in cahoots! That’s exactly what he keeps telling me.
Was there any doubt that Decatur would win the ING Challenge? I don’t think so!!!! Congratulations!!!!
Guess we were the only ones cheering in the rain.
Next year, let’s have a neighborhood challenge in Decatur. This year, if there were an award, I’d say it should go to Decatur Heights, which posted 6 14 x 22″ posters on poles in its neighborhood (since it doesn’t yet have a plexi-front message board like Oakhurst, but it’s working on that) and had a cheering section right at the Ponce/Clairemont turn. I hope to see cheeering sections from other neighborhoods next year. But, I’m speculating Decatur Heights will again show up in force and win the neighborhood cheering award, should Decatur acknowledge it.
Good idea. The city or DBA or someone else could sponsor a contest and awards just like the Christmas pizzeria light contest or whatever it’s called.
Go for it Dave. Sponsor a contest! I’m in!
If someone would have suggested to Thomas Jefferson that his wall of separation between church and city government would become police barricades and marathon runners that prevent people from reaching their churches, he might have used a different phrase. As much as I admire Mr. Kell, the DecMetro guy, and Ms. Burnette in their efforts to build community spirit, the promotion of the ING Marathon on Sunday morning sends the message that the worship of the Creator is less important than 3,000 pieces of silver.
One day out of the year. Seriously? Two thousand years of days of worship and you are going to complain that a marathon, on one day, is preventing you from worshiping your god? Again, seriously? I’m sure He would understand.
Mr Billingsley,
Surely Our Creator smiles whenever folks reach out in support of one another—whether in the streets or in the churches. Give praise & know that He hears us everywhere!
I didn’t mean to dismiss the difficulties encountered by church goers last Sunday. Indeed, it should be acknowledged. Unfortunately, there may not be a better traffic solution. Perhaps it’s better to maybe focus on creative solutions for future races.
What if church goers could take the occasion to be inspired by another church’s service– as individuals or as entire congregations– to make it a true day of community in the very best sense of the word? And Dave’s hope for choirs to participate along the race route is also a good one. Choirs would inspire many runners. (And spur the atheists to run even faster! )
For those of us who believe in a spiritual power greater than us, we know that there’s always an interested presence watching to see how we respond when the path isn’t the easy, familiar one. And cheering all of us on!
By my own unofficial report of collections at the church we attend, based on nothing but my personal observation of weekly collections reported in the bulletin, not a database or anything else systematic and quantitative, collections were down 36% whereas the amount usually fluctuates only about 10% one way or another. I’ve never seen such a large decrease before. Since I didn’t attend because of the race, I can’t verify by observation that attendance was down but that’s my guess. Times are tight for churches too and a 36% decrease is scarey.
Having said that, I still think the race is a great idea; there just needs to be a little more thought about how not to impact places of worship. In these hard times. when government safety nets are losing funding and failing, what faith communities are doing for the unemployed, homeless, uninsured, and mentally or physically ill is critically important. We don’t want to accidentally cripple them.
I see your point, Mr. Chris, and see no reason the race couldn’t be held Saturday morning just as well as Sunday, but then that’s another religion’s Sabbath, isn’t it?
It needs to be in the early morning on a weekend day, and both are religious days, so what can we do?
I was disappointed that there was no choir section singing hymns at the historic Decatur Frist Methodist building, as there was last year. While I was filming runners coming around the corner from Fillini’s Pizza last year, to hear hymns, it made my eyes water, because it was so beautful.
If the event has to be on Sunday morning, the churches along the route should (IMHO) embrace it and use it as chance to witness to the runners and cheerers.
Jesus didn’t preach from inside a beautiful building at a set time and day of the week. He went where the good people and the sinners were.
Watch this video of the 2009 race coming through Decatur. Watch the segment starting at the 1:45 minute mark, and tell me that’s not a great way to witness to people. I know it moved me.
I was not in Decatur to cheer this year, as I was busy running the half marathon. But I heard one of the marathoners after the race telling his family how fantastic Decatur’s cheering section was! He said the five or so miles they were in Decatur were the best of the marathon. It made me very proud of my city, and almost makes me want to run the marathon next year so I can also have that Decatur experience. Almost.