"Breaking 2:00" Project a Success Thanks to In-Training

Frank McDonald approached the start line of the 2023 Invesco QQQ Thanksgiving Day Half Marathon thinking about only one goal: finishing in under two hours.

Of the 31 half marathons he had completed before that day, six were sub-2:00 but - no matter how many goals he set or how hard he tried - it had been four years since he'd broken that barrier. In his most recent attempt, his goal had fallen out of reach by 10K.

A chemistry professor at Emory University, the Tucker, GA, man knew he needed to go back before he would be able to move forward.

McDonald, now 61, realized when he turned 50 that he needed to break his sedentary habits and live a healthier lifestyle. A search for structure and discipline brought him to a run/walk Weight Watchers program, which led to his first 5K in 2013. A year later, he did his first Atlanta Journal-Constitution Peachtree Road Race, which he heard about from his doctor - who happened to be Clyde Partin, Jr., one of the Original 110 finishers of the first-ever Peachtree.

Knowing he needed guidance to complete a hot and humid 10K on the Fourth of July, he signed up for Atlanta Track Club's In-Training for Peachtree program.

"The accountability from the group was super helpful," he said. "There's so many people in the program who can run at the same pace and keep you company on the long runs, too."

After that, he was hooked and started running half and full marathons with the help of the In-Training for Publix Atlanta Marathon program, running his first half in 2014 and full in 2016. More followed, as did the ups and downs. For most of his half marathons, he had the same goal in mind: A sub-2:00 finish.

In 2023, 11 years after he started his running journey, McDonald started what he called his "Breaking 2:00 Project" in quest of meeting that goal for the first time since December 2019. He knew he would need the same accountability of his early running days, especially with summer training, so he signed up for the In-Training for Thanksgiving Day Half Marathon program.

Throughout his training block, McDonald experienced the highs and lows of training with occasional injuries and work-life running challenges affecting his runs, but he was optimistic after the PNC Atlanta 10 Miler, which he finished at his goal half marathon pace, in a time of 1:30:41, a month before Thanksgiving.

Then came race day. It took some time for McDonald to loosen up at the start, but he eventually remembered and repeated the mantra "relax and glide," which Run Lead Brad Blitz would tell him during training runs.

In a blog post recapping his full race experience, McDonald wrote that he gained strength and confidence from those around him, whether it was a fellow In-Training participant, a volunteer or a stranger with similar goals to his.

His last mile was his strongest, as he focused on the energy of the runners around him. Finally, he stepped over the mat, looked down at his watch and thought to himself, "I did it, I did it, I did it."

His time: 1:59:26.

He immediately turned around to see if anyone he recognized was behind him. There was Blitz, the Run Lead who shared the mantra he repeated throughout the race, as well as a fellow In-Training participant. McDonald was thrilled to share his good news.

Blitz says he saw that as the moment McDonald reaped the rewards of every In-Training program in which he ever took part.

"It's always exciting to witness or hear of athletes accomplishing their goals on race day, happiness in triumph is infectious and you can't help but be filled with pride, especially when you rode the rollercoaster of In-Training with them and can personally account for the efforts they poured into their performance," Blitz said.

As for McDonald, "What helped me through the race was definitely the people I had been training with. It was so much fun to run with them for a while and encourage each other, and they were so excited for me after the race for achieving my goal."

Registration for the 2024 In-Training for Invesco QQQ Thanksgiving Day Half Marathon is still open. For more information or to register, click here.