Steven Toole
Hometown: Smyrna, GA
Races Completed: three marathons, 13 half marathons, three 5Ks
On Streaker Gifts: I do not really have a favorite, but I always look forward to seeing what we would get the next year. The ones I use the most are the running shirt and visor.
Storm Year: My first full marathon was the year the tornado struck downtown Atlanta the weekend before the race and did damage to quite a few of the buildings and the old Georgia Dome. The race was not cancelled and was a great run as I ran under 4 hours for my first marathon. A few of my friends and their families drove to different parts of the course to cheer me on. But the finish line was the funniest thing after 26 miles and due to the road closures in the area the last .x miles was down in barricades likes an amusement park where we ran one way and back another way and so on for 3-5 times. So the fans at the finish line could do an extra cheer for you to get you to the finish line.
Funny Story: The second year I was running the full marathon, one of my friends was not at the place we discussed we would meet before the race. We called him and woke him up about 15 minutes before the start. Luckily, he lived within the city limits., We told him we would wait for him in front of the Omni Hotel before the start line. Of course, the place was crazy so when he arrived and he could not find us he started to run the race on his own and go extra fast to try to catch up to us. Unfortunately, we were still waiting for him and after 5 minutes after the start we decided to start but run slow for the first few miles in hopes he would catch up. For about half the race he was running fast and for about half we ran slow. Then we decided to pick up the pace. In the end he had personal best first half marathon, and we had negative times in the second half. At the finish line we met each other as he finished about 1-2 minutes before us. All that work to meet up with each other, and we finally did at the finish line.
Difficult Obstacle: One year I strained my hamstring about 2 weeks before the race. I was signed up for the half and knew I could not run 13 miles. So I called Atlanta Track Club to see my options, and they informed me if I could find a way to run the 5K, that would allow me to keep the streak, which I lightly jogged and finished. I found out accidently the 5K is a really nice run and would recommend to others. The 2021 race during COVID was not sure what I would do but being virtual was OK; it was not the same as doing the race in person. Running next to others and having spectators gives you that extra push when you need it. I'll never sign up for virtual race unless I can find a way to run with friends and have something special about it.