9. Cooper River Bridge Run, 2007

March 31, 2007 was the day of the 30th Annual Cooper River Bridge Run, and I was right there in the middle of it. For those of you who aren’t familiar with the way a person’s time is measured, the “Start Time” is measured from the official start of the race to the moment when your tracking chip crosses the Finish line. The “Chip Time” is measured from the moment when your chip crosses the Starting Line to the moment when it crosses the Finish Line.

Due to the crowds, you can spend a few minutes just getting to the Starting Line, so the Chip Time is much more accurate. This year I had more trouble with the crowds, and it shows in my times when compared with last year. That’s okay, though. Unless you’re a professional runner, this event is more for fun than anything else.

Above, you can see a map of the course. You can get a larger version at the official Bridge Run Site. As you can see, it begins in Mount Pleasant and proceeds West into Downtown Charleston, ending at Marion Square Park. There’s a festival in and around the park after the race. It’s worth it just for the free fruit!

This year I did something a little different. The Flowertown Race worked out so well that I decided to bring my camera again. This time, I don’t just have before-and-after photos from the race… I have images for the entire course!

The next few pages are a visual narrative of the race without any chatter from me. Again, it’s just like the Flowertown Race article. It starts with a photo I took of the bridge on the morning before the race, then to the Starbucks a few hours before the official start, and finally to the long walk from Marion Square Park to the Aquarium parking garage. Enjoy!

 View Album on Flickr