Local

91-year-old WWII veteran checks running the Peachtree off bucket list

By Liz Artz
By Liz Artz

ATLANTA — A local 91-year-old World War II veteran checked off a bucket list item Tuesday. He completed the AJC Peachtree Road Race.

Billy Hargrove says he is checking off his bucket list one by one and he doesn’t want to waste any time because you never know how many days you have left.

Channel 2's Liz Artz caught up with him along the route and found out his connection to Channel 2's consumer advisor Clark Howard.

AGED TO PERFECTION

Hargrove was walking with his son Marlin.

“It’s just something I haven’t done,” Hargrove told Artz. “I wanted to ride in a hot air balloon, parasol. I’m going to zip-line, life is full of a lot of things to do.”

TRENDING STORIES:

Running in the Peachtree Road Race was one of the many things on Hargrove’s bucket list and it keeps growing and growing.

He checks things off and then adds more.

Hargrove gave Artz pictures from his years in the service and told her that on this Fourth of July, he’s proud to have served and is proud of his country.

“I still stand, take my hat off and salute when the flag goes by,” Hargrove said.

He almost didn’t make it to the race Tuesday because he didn’t have a number to enter the race until a few weeks ago.

“Clark Howard gave me this number. This is the one he would have worn had he been able to run the race,” Hargrove told Artz.

When Hargrove walked across the finish line, his son took a cellphone video of him in Clark Howard’s number.

Clark told him the he was wearing his wife’s number instead.

“My wife hurt her foot, so I grabbed hers,” Howard said.

It took Hargrove less than two hours to finish the road race, which is impressive for a 91-year-young man.

“Maybe this will tell someone to get up out of the chair,” Hargrove said. “Wear out, don’t rust out.”

After the race, Hargrove told Artz that he was feeling good, but didn’t know he was going to have to walk another five miles to get to his car once the race was over.

Cox Media Group

Most Read