Twelve Minutes and a Life

This story won the 2021 Pulitzer Prize and National Magazine Award for Feature Writing. It appeared in Issue 5, 2020 of Runner’s World. Sunday, February 23, 2020 | 1:04 p.m. Time-stamped security footage from an adjacent home shows Maud, who’s out for a run in Brunswick’s Satilla Shores subdivision, wandering up a sunny patch of narrow road and stopping on the spotty lawn of a sand-colored under-construction bungalow addressed 220 Satilla Drive. There’s a red portable toilet in the front yard. The garage is wide open. Ahmaud, dressed in light-colored low-top Nikes, a white t-shirt, and khaki cargo shorts, loafs on the lawn for a moment before drifting into the building. The security camera records him inside the home, a brightened skeleton of beams and plywood and stacks of sheetrock and piping and wire. There are boxes of materials scattered about and a small forklift pushed in a corner. Maud doesn’t touch any of those things. He looks around, gazes beyond the frame of the camera toward the river behind the house. Maybe he wonders what the home will look like when it’s finished. Maybe he conjures an image of a family who could afford to live in a place so close to water. Maud ain’t the first person to wander onto the site. Its security cameras have recorded others including a white couple one evening and a pair of white boys one day. On four occasions, it also recorded what appears to be the same person: a slim young Black man with wild natural hair and tattoos on his shoulders and arms, a dude, that by my eye, don’t resemble Maud. Let me add that the homeowner will confirm that nothing was stolen or damaged during any of the visits. Meanwhile, a coveralled neighbor spies Maud roaming the site and calls 9-1-1. “There’s a guy in the house right now,” he reports. “It’s a house under construction. 219 or 220 Satilla Drive.” The man waits near the corner of Jones Road and Satilla Drive. “I just need to know what he’s doing wrong,” says the dispatcher. “He’s been caught on the camera a bunch before. It’s kind of an ongoing thing out here,” says the caller. It’s a statement of which he can’t be sure, though he does get right Maud’s physical description: “Black guy, white T-shirt.” [View in Browser]( [Runner's World Logo]( [SHOP]( [RW+ EXCLUSIVES]( [SUBSCRIBE]( [Twelve Minutes and a Life]( [Twelve Minutes and a Life]( This story won the 2021 Pulitzer Prize and National Magazine Award for Feature Writing. It appeared in Issue 5, 2020 of Runner’s World. Sunday, February 23, 2020 | 1:04 p.m. Time-stamped security footage from an adjacent home shows Maud, who’s out for a run in Brunswick’s Satilla Shores subdivision, wandering up a sunny patch of narrow road and stopping on the spotty lawn of a sand-colored under-construction bungalow addressed 220 Satilla Drive. There’s a red portable toilet in the front yard. The garage is wide open. Ahmaud, dressed in light-colored low-top Nikes, a white t-shirt, and khaki cargo shorts, loafs on the lawn for a moment before drifting into the building. The security camera records him inside the home, a brightened skeleton of beams and plywood and stacks of sheetrock and piping and wire. There are boxes of materials scattered about and a small forklift pushed in a corner. Maud doesn’t touch any of those things. He looks around, gazes beyond the frame of the camera toward the river behind the house. Maybe he wonders what the home will look like when it’s finished. Maybe he conjures an image of a family who could afford to live in a place so close to water. Maud ain’t the first person to wander onto the site. Its security cameras have recorded others including a white couple one evening and a pair of white boys one day. On four occasions, it also recorded what appears to be the same person: a slim young Black man with wild natural hair and tattoos on his shoulders and arms, a dude, that by my eye, don’t resemble Maud. Let me add that the homeowner will confirm that nothing was stolen or damaged during any of the visits. Meanwhile, a coveralled neighbor spies Maud roaming the site and calls 9-1-1. “There’s a guy in the house right now,” he reports. “It’s a house under construction. 219 or 220 Satilla Drive.” The man waits near the corner of Jones Road and Satilla Drive. “I just need to know what he’s doing wrong,” says the dispatcher. “He’s been caught on the camera a bunch before. It’s kind of an ongoing thing out here,” says the caller. It’s a statement of which he can’t be sure, though he does get right Maud’s physical description: “Black guy, white T-shirt.” [Read More]( [Alternate text] [One of the Most Gruesome Steeplechase Mishaps Ever? You Decide]( [One of the Most Gruesome Steeplechase Mishaps Ever? You Decide]( Ky Robinson’s face took a beating at the Pac-12 championships, but he gets faster every race. [Read More]( [The Best Hoka One One Running Shoes]( [The Best Hoka One One Running Shoes]( Hoka is the king of cushion, and these 10 shoes show what a plush ride can do for most any run. [Read More]( [Alternate text]   [Alternate text] [Whoop Data Shows These 2 Simple Habits Can Speed Up Recovery After a Tough Run]( [Whoop Data Shows These 2 Simple Habits Can Speed Up Recovery After a Tough Run]( They had the biggest effects on important recovery metrics for users. [Read More]( [RW+ Membership]( [As Heart-Rate Tracking Technology Continues to Evolve, Your Reliance on It Should, Too]( [RUNNER'S WORLD+ EXCLUSIVE]( [As Heart-Rate Tracking Technology Continues to Evolve, Your Reliance on It Should, Too]( Heart rate data from wrist-worn, optically-based devices is flawed but can still be valuable. Understanding that nuance is the key to leveraging your metrics, not getting lost in them. [Read more]( [RW+ Membership]( [Elle Purrier’s Hot Streak Has Lasted Years]( [Elle Purrier’s Hot Streak Has Lasted Years]( She heads to the Olympic Trials as a favorite in the 1500 meters. [Read More]( [The Best Weighted Jump Ropes to Add Intensity to Your Workouts]( [The Best Weighted Jump Ropes to Add Intensity to Your Workouts]( Step up your cross-training workout with one of these eight options. [Read More]( [Alternate text]   [Alternate text] RW SHOP The Latest from the Runner's World Collection [Run Strong in Your 40s, 50s, and 60s]( [Run Strong in Your 40s, 50s, and 60s]( [Shop Now]( [In-Training T-Shirt]( [In-Training T-Shirt]( [Shop Now]( [10-Minute Cross-Training for Runners: Run Faster and Stronger with Fewer Injuries!]( [10-Minute Cross-Training for Runners: Run Faster and Stronger with Fewer Injuries!]( [Shop Now]( [Beginner's 10K Plan (6 weeks)]( [Beginner's 10K Plan (6 weeks)]( [Shop Now]( [Sign up for Runner's World+ today!](  Follow Us       [Unsubscribe](  [Privacy Notice](  Runnersworld.com ©2021 Hearst Communications Inc. All Rights Reserved. Hearst Email Privacy, 300 W 57th St., Fl. 19 (sta 1-1), New York, NY 10019   Â