In the kiln of the Georgia summer heat, Sgt. Greg Cochran tried to take my doughy physique and make it into something. With the approval of the Hall County Sheriff’s Office to take its physical assessment, I intended to put my money where my mouth was — or more specifically, put my gut where my typing hands were. The competitive nature in Shannon Casas, Times metro editor, and Carly Sharec, editor of The Paper of Flowery Branch, drew them to my idea.