Free Republic

his is the soul-destroying moment an American runner celebrated his victory a little too early at the end of a race and ended up getting beaten to the finish line by a British runner. Ben Payne made the gaffe during the 10-kilometre AJC Peachtree Road Race in Atlanta, Georgia, making his Fourth of July a day that he won't forget. Payne's ill-timed decision was caught on NBC broadcast WXIA and shows the moment he nears the finish line of the race and slows down, only for British Olympian Scott Overall to pass him.

CAMP ARIFJAN, Kuwait – More than 900 service members and Department of Defense employees started their Fourth of July festivities by participating in the annual Peachtree Road Race 10K here. The winner of this year’s race was 1st Lt. Nicholas Sterghos, a Cornelia, Ga., native, assigned to 1st Battalion, 44th Air Defense Artillery Regiment, with a time of 33 minutes, 22 seconds. “This race was a training run,” said Sterghos. “I’m trying to qualify for the World Class Athlete Program.” Sterghos’ goal is to make the U.S. Olympic Team for the 2012 Summer Olympics in London. He competes in the...

ATLANTA, July 4 — At 6 a.m. his time, as the sun spread over the pancake-flat desert around him, William G. Halicks, a Navy captain stationed in Hillah, Iraq, measured the temperature at 95 degrees. It was hot, certainly, but with only a light breeze, the chances of having a throat-choking dust storm seemed low. For Captain Halicks, that meant it was a fine day for a foot race. He was runner No. 1 in the 2007 Peachtree Road Race, which organizers call the largest 10K run in the world, and which for most runners takes place in Atlanta. Participants...