Jimmy Carter Runs the Race (September, 1979)

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One day in September of 1979, roughly 750 runners took their places at the starting line of a 6.2-mile road race over a hilly course in Maryland. They waited, and they watched, bobbing in place as a 55-year-old man pulled off his blue warmup jacket, pinned the number 39 onto his shirt, yanked up a pair of black socks, slipped on a bright yellow headband, …