Atlanta ? Sporting a temporary tattoo with the Delta Air Lines logo on her right cheek, Debora Schum finished a 5K run Saturday on an extraordinary loop – a taxiway and then the new runway of the world’s busiest air hub.

“It was mesmerizing to look at the ground,” said the 44-year-old software saleswoman, who flies out of Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport every week on business but had never seen the markings and runway fixtures up close.

About 1,500 runners gathered Saturday morning at the airport for the run that’s part of celebrations for the opening of the $1.3 billion fifth runway.

Airport officials say the new runway, which took about five years to build and will open to commercial flights later this week, was created to help cut in half the delays that plague Hartsfield-Jackson.

No airport in the world handles more passengers. Nearly 86 million people pass through each year on more than 980,000 flights – one taking off or landing about every 30 seconds.