In sharp contrast to last year's event, this year's Athens to Atlanta was dry and beautiful. Only a small number of GT skaters were on-hand for the event, but those who were had a good showing.

The air was cool and a bit misty when the 720 skaters left the line at 7:30 AM on October 1. This number wasn't an A2A record but was quite respectable. Who knows how many skaters swore off the A2A after slogging through last year's standing water. Probably not many. These folks are tough and not easily disuaded.

A2A attracts an interesting mix of skaters. There are skaters who are there to prove they can make it. They're laden with water bottles and power bars and they're encrusted with all sorts of protective padding. Then there are the skaters who're there to prove they can make it and do it quickly. They're most often laden with nothing but a skin suit and a helmet. (And perhaps a scar or two from a previous encounter with the road.)

In the end though, skaters of all sorts work together to help each other get through it, and then rejoice in their achievements when they hit the end of the line in Piedmont Park. There's a sense of cameraderie that you might find among mountain climbers or test pilots. "We did it because we could."

To the skaters who helped our skaters--especially our little ones-- get through it by providing moral support or a good draft, we want to say, "Thanks."

Results are listed below.

Full Distance (86 miles)

Michael Middleton finished 1st among the 13-17 year old boys/men and was 48th overall this year. His finishing time was 5:25:04 for an average speed of 15.87 mph. This was quite an improvement over last year's finish of 4th in his division and his time of 6:04:30.

Half Distance (38 Miles)

Jono Gorman finished 1st among the 13-17 year old boys/men and was 9th overall this year. His finishing time was 2:07:59 for an average speed of 17.81 mph. This was an improvement over his 1998 time of 2:24:14.

Steven McKenzie (13-17) was forced to retire due to equipment problems.

Gregory Gorman (12 and under) gave it a good go, but somewhere in the final 10 miles of the race, Greg colapsed in the road from exhaustion and dehydration. A Good Samaritan from a nearby house drove him to the finish line.

Katie Heffelfinger finished 1st among the 12 and under girls and was 72nd overall this year. Her finishing time was 2:55:33 for an average speed of 12.99 mph.