The Peachtree Road Race (branded AJC Peachtree Road Race for sponsorship reasons) is an American

10-kilometer run 1 (one, unit, unity) is a number representing a single or the only entity. 1 is also a numerical digit and represents a single unit of counting or measurement. For example, a line segment of ''unit length'' is a line segment of length 1 ...

held annually in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

. After being held on

Independence Day An independence day is an annual event commemorating the anniversary of a nation's independence or statehood, usually after ceasing to be a group or part of another nation or state, or more rarely after the end of a military occupation. Man ...

from 1970 to 2019, the race was cancelled because of the COVID pandemic after originally being set for Thanksgiving. It is the world's largest 10k race, a title it has held since the late 1970s. The race has become a citywide tradition in which over 70,000 amateur and professional runners try to register for one of the limited 60,000 spots. The event also includes a

wheelchair A wheelchair is a chair with wheels, used when walking is difficult or impossible due to illness, injury, problems related to old age, or disability. These can include spinal cord injuries ( paraplegia, hemiplegia, and quadriplegia), cerebr ...

race (known as the

Shepherd Center Shepherd Center is a private, not-for profit hospital in Atlanta, Georgia. Founded in 1975, the 152-bed hospital focuses on the medical treatment, research and rehabilitation for people with spinal cord injury and disease, acquired brain injury, ...

wheelchair division), which precedes the footrace. In recent years, the race also has a special division for soldiers stationed in the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabian Peninsula, Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Anatolia, Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Pro ...

. The race attracts some of the world's elite 10K runners and has served as both the United States' men's and women's 10K championship. Children can participate in the Peachtree Junior 1 mile run or 50m Dash, held on July 3 in Piedmont Park.

History

The AJC Peachtree Road Race was started in 1970 by the

Atlanta Track Club Atlanta Track Club is a non-profit, running organization for the Atlanta metropolitan area in Georgia, United States. It hosts over 30 events a year including the Thanksgiving Day Atlanta Half Marathon/5K and the AJC Peachtree Road Race. Atlan ...

. The first year, 110 runners ran from the old Sears building at the corner of

Peachtree Street Peachtree Street is one of several major streets running through the city of Atlanta. Beginning at Five Points (Atlanta), Five Points in downtown Atlanta, it runs North through Midtown Atlanta, Midtown; a few blocks after entering into Buckhead ...

and Roswell Road to Central City Park (now

Woodruff Park Woodruff Park, named for Robert W. Woodruff, is located in the heart of Downtown Atlanta, Georgia. The park's are north of Edgewood Ave, between Peachtree Street NE and Park Place NE. The park includes a fountain, a performance pavilion, an ...

). The race was sponsored by Carling Brewery. The next year, the race increased to 198 runners. Organizers used the sponsorship money to purchase

T-shirt A T-shirt (also spelled tee shirt), or tee, is a style of fabric shirt named after the T shape of its body and sleeves. Traditionally, it has short sleeves and a round neckline, known as a ''crew neck'', which lacks a collar. T-shirts are general ...

s but underestimated the number of participants. T-shirts were given out to the first finishers, until they ran out. In 1972, the organizers ordered only 250 T-shirts but 330 runners ran the race. In 1974, the event grew to 765 runners; in 1975 there were over 1,000 runners. In 1976, Carling Brewery dropped its sponsorship of the race and ''

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution ''The Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' is the only major daily newspaper in the metropolitan area of Atlanta, Georgia. It is the flagship publication of Cox Enterprises. The ''Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' is the result of the merger between ...

'' began sponsoring the race, bringing it added coverage and popularity. That year over 2,300 runners competed. In 1977 over 6,500 runners competed, overwhelming the capacity of Central City Park. As a result, in 1978 the course was moved to starting at Lenox Square and finishing at

Piedmont Park Piedmont Park is an urban park in Atlanta, Georgia, located about northeast of Downtown, between the Midtown and Virginia Highland neighborhoods. Originally the land was owned by Dr. Benjamin Walker, who used it as his out-of-town gentleman's ...

. In 1979 the race attracted over 20,000 runners. In 1980, the number of participants was limited to 25,000 runners, which continued until 1990. In 1982, the

wheelchair division was formed for the race. The race became so popular that by 1989, the race reached capacity in only nine days and Atlanta Track Club increased the limit to 40,000 in 1990. In 1992, it expanded to 45,000 runners; in 1995, it expanded to 50,000 runners, followed by a 10% expansion in 1998 to 55,000 runners; it would not be until 2011 that the capacity was expanded to 60,000. The AJC Peachtree Road Race has become an event important in Atlanta culture. In addition to the 60,000 participants, there are approximately 150,000 observers who line both sides of the entire course to cheer and support the runners. Some runners deliberately wear costumes, many of which are patriotic (due to the event's occurring on Independence Day). The entire race is also televised on

WXIA-TV WXIA-TV (channel 11) is a television station in Atlanta, Georgia, United States, affiliated with NBC. It is owned by Tegna Inc. alongside MyNetworkTV affiliate WATL (channel 36). Both stations share studios at One Monroe Place on the north en ...

. The race hosted the USA Men's 10 km Championship in 2007.

2008 changes

With the entire north Georgia region facing historic drought conditions in 2008, water conservation measures were enacted prohibiting outdoor watering of plants and lawns. As a result of the watering ban, the City of Atlanta decided to prohibit large festivals (over 50,000 people) from using Piedmont Park in 2008 in order to protect the grass lawns which could not be watered. Displaced events included the Atlanta Pride, Jazz, and Dogwood Festivals as well as the Peachtree Road Race which traditionally used Piedmont Park for the finish line of the race and distribution of T-shirts. The AJC Peachtree Road Race considered moving the finish area to

Georgia Tech The Georgia Institute of Technology, commonly referred to as Georgia Tech or, in the state of Georgia, as Tech or The Institute, is a public research university and institute of technology in Atlanta, Georgia. Established in 1885, it is part of ...

, but Georgia Tech refused, citing safety concerns. On February 19, it was announced that the race finish line would be at the intersection of Juniper Street and Ponce de Leon Avenue in Midtown. Runners then walked three more blocks to the

Atlanta Civic Center The Atlanta Civic Center was a theater located in Atlanta, Georgia. It closed in 2014. The theater, which seats 4,600, regularly hosted touring productions of Broadway musicals, concerts, seminars, comedy acts, and high school graduations and ...

parking area where the awards stage, family meeting area and sponsor village were located. The race returned to its previous course in 2009.

2009 changes

Starting in 2009, and in association with Atlanta Track Club, registration applications began to be accepted online on the Active.com site starting on the third Sunday in March. Controversy ruled over the 2009 registration, as over 800 complaints were filed because of server failures by the outsourced registration. The 45,000 applications sold out within hours. The following Sunday, applications for the 10,000 slot lottery are published in ''The Atlanta Journal-Constitution''. These slots are randomly selected from remaining applications post-marked by March 31. Atlanta Track Club experimented in November 2008 at The Weather Channel Atlanta Marathon and Half Marathon with implementation of the ChronoTrack D-Tag transponder system, a disposable tag system. Following its success, the organization announced that starting with the 2009 Peachtree, all runners—not just the elite and timegroup 1 runners—will be timed. Doing this will help with positioning runners for future Peachtree events.

2010 changes

Online registration for the 2010 PRR opened on Sunday, March 21, at 1:00 pm. The first 45,000 online applicants receive race entry. Additionally, a paper application appeared in the March 28 ''AJC''. 10,000 entries were to be randomly selected from all paper applications received. The online spots were filled in less than five hours. In one of the biggest changes seen in race history, starting assignments for all participants will be performance-based. Once the top-seeded and sub-seeded runners start, timegroups 1A, 1B, and 2-9 have been replaced with start waves A-W (19 in total, with letters I, O, Q and V omitted). Applicants are able to submit results from an official race (run on a

USATF USA Track & Field (USATF) is the United States national governing body for the sports of track and field, cross country running, road running and racewalking (known as the sport of athletics outside the US). The USATF was known between 1979 and ...

-certified course), run on or after March 1, 2008, of distances of 5 miles, 10K, 10 miles, the 1/2 marathon, and for the first time, the shorter 5K distance.

2011 changes

Atlanta Track Club switched to an exclusive lottery format online for the 2011 Peachtree. Most of the 60,000 positions were determined by a lottery draw, with selected exceptions for elite invited athletes, the members of the organizing club, and those who have run ten or more consecutive Peachtree Road Races, all of which were allowed automatic entry. Also, those who pay $150 for the organizers' charity would be automatically entered.

2020 cancellation

The March 15 opening of lottery and Atlanta Track Club member registration occurred just four days after the

Rudy Gobert Rudy Gobert-Bourgarel ( ; born June 26, 1992) is a French professional basketball player for the Minnesota Timberwolves of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He also represents the French national team in their international competitions. ...

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was COVID-19 pandemic in Hubei, identified in Wuhan, China, in December ...

positive test at an NBA game that caused a shutdown of sport in the United States. The resulting lottery and club member registration only drew 45,000 entries, with the race only was three-fourths full by the traditional lottery deadline of March 31. Atlanta Track Club cancelled the drawing, awarding all 45,000 entries an automatic entry into the Peachtree. On May 1, 2020, the Atlanta Track Club announced the cancellation of the Invesco QQQ Half Marathon usually held on Thanksgiving Day and will instead hold the Peachtree on November 26, 2020, a byproduct of the coronavirus pandemic. A second round of member registration will be held in September, followed by registration to fill out the field later in the month, for the November date. The race was officially cancelled in August 2020, which the Atlanta Track Club used to move two other races that were to be part of the Triple Peach outside Fulton County, which was under restrictions imposed by the county, and into closed-course motor racing circuits (which are private property) outside the county. The PNC 10 Miler in October moved to Michelin Raceway in Hall County and the 2021

Atlanta Marathon The Atlanta Marathon (branded Publix Atlanta Marathon for sponsorship reasons) is an annual marathon held in Atlanta, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, except in 2021 where it was held in Hampton, Georgia on the premises of Atlanta Motor Speedway beca ...

was relocated to the perimeter roads and parking lots surrounding, and finishing with laps inside,

Atlanta Motor Speedway Atlanta Motor Speedway (formerly known Atlanta International Raceway from 1960 to 1990) is a 1.54-mile entertainment facility in Hampton, Georgia, United States, 20 miles (32 km) south of Atlanta. It has annually hosted NASCAR Cup Series ...

in Henry County.

51st Peachtree: July 3–4, 2021

The Atlanta Track Club announced in January 2021 that the 51st Peachtree Road Race would be held July 3–4, 2021, with runners being assigned to either the July 3 or July 4 wave. The two-day event was held on its traditional course.

Qualification

Qualifying events

The Peachtree Road Race has a list of regional races that serve as qualifiers for the race. January * Resolution Run 4 Miler * Braselton Lifeway 8K/5K * MLK Day 5k Drum Run * Peachtree City 8K/15K * Norcross High School Blue Devils Run * Dr. James H. Crowdis Run 5K/10K * Milton Boys Lacrosse 5K * Cool Shark 5K * The Frozen 5K * First Watch Locomotive Half Marathon/5K * East Metro Atlanta 5K February * Atlanta Hawks Fast Break 5K * PT Solutions Cupid Chase 5K * Run For Angels 5K/10K *

Suwanee Half Marathon The Suwanee Half Marathon (formerly branded as the Suwanee Gateway Half Marathon) is an annual USATF certified half marathon road running race. It was established in 2015 and has been run every year since. It passes through landmarks such as Suw ...

* Tartan Trot 5K/10K * Hearts & Soles 5K * Southsides Fastest 5k * The With or Without You 5K * Atlanta Mission 5k Race to End Homelessness * Wiphan Warthog Waddle * Love Run 5K sponsored by DeKalb DA Sherry Boston * Augusta University Half Marathon, 10K, & 5K * Run for the Son * Love in Action 5K March * Awesomesauce 5K and 1 Mile Fun Run * Chattahoochee Road Race 10K & 5K * Dental Dash at Dawn 5k * Finish Lion 5K * Run Dahlonega 5K * Berry Half Marathon/10k/5k * Shamrock 'N Roll Road Race * Marietta Shamrock Shuffle 5k * Gwinnett Life Run 5K * Water Drop Dash 5k * Publix Georgia Marathon & Half Marathon * Atlanta Women's 5K * Cass Cannonball 5K/10K * Refuge Run 5K/10K * Brookhaven Cherry Blossom Festival 5K * Run For Ronald 5K * Chasing Moonlight/Racing Sunlight, the Tropical Smoothie Cafe 5K in Paradise * The Lucky Leprechaun 5K * Junior League of Macon Road Race April * The Daffodil Dash * Singleton 5K/10K * Pace Race 5K * Dallas Race for a Cure * Annual Sickle Cell Road Race * The Fantastic Movie Run 10K * Tropical Smoothie Cafe 5K May * Hustle for Hope 5K Run * Swift Cantrell Classic 5k * Brookhaven Bolt * Fast Track 5k * Project 82 Kenya 5K June * Turbo Dash 10K * Braves Country 5K/10K * Odyssey 5K Run * Dream Dash 5K * Healthy Heart 5K * Run with the Badges 5K Glow Run July * AJC Peachtree Road Race * The Sports Fanatic 5k * Decatur Dekalb 4 Miler * Leadership Butts Glow Run * Hi-Tech Race Series 5K August * Hero Run 5k * Tailgate 5K Presented by Georgia's Own Credit * Atlanta's Finest 5K * The ATL 10K * Walk, Wag, N' Run 5K September * Big Peach Sizzler 10K * The Birchmore Memorial Run for Fun 5K * Team Maggie 5K/10K * ADMH Run for Health * Wingfoot XC Classic * Great Locomotive Chase 5k * Mercedes-Benz Stadium 5K/Walk Like MADD * Superhero 5K Run Walk * Race to End Violence October * Duluth Donut Dash 5K * Lily's Run and Family Festival 5K * Cobb County 5K to benefit Make-A-Wish Georgia * JE Dunn Hammer Down 5k * Annual Run Your Tail Off 5K * PNC Atlanta 10 Miler & 5K * 2017 Gin Run 5K * Racin' in the 'Burg 5K * 17th Annual Jack O'Lantern Jog 5K * Officer's Down 5K - DeKalb County Police Department * Big Pumpkin Run 5K * Garden Gallop 5K * Angel Dash 5K * Cupcake RUN! ATL 5K * Spooktacular Chase 10K & 5K * CLIF Craft Coffee Fest 5K * Winship Win the Fight 5K November * Starry Night 5K * Holiday Haulin' 5K and Fun Run * Stuff the Bus 5K Run/Walk * Race for Grace Half Marathon * Smyrna Village 5K & 10K * Thanksgiving Day Half Marathon & 5K * Jefferson First Baptist Church 9th Annual 5K Turkey Can Run/Walk * St. Peter Chanel 5K * 30A 10K

Race registration and starting group placement

Until 2008, applications for registration in the AJC Peachtree Road Race were published in ''The Atlanta Journal-Constitution'' on the third Sunday in March. The first 45,000 applications received were automatically entered into the race; an additional 10,000 applications are randomly selected from remaining applications post-marked by March 31. The race is currently limited to 60,000 entries. The 2009 registration fee was $33. Atlanta Track Club requires runners to be at least 10 years of age by the day of the race. The race is divided into 21 starting groups, all based on times verified at USA Track and Field certified courses with the past two years at distances between 5 km and 21.1 km (half marathon) races that the runner must submit to the Atlanta Track Club at time of registration in March. The last groups (W, X, and Y) will be assigned to runners who did not send a verified time from a USATF-certified course. Seeded runners, invited athletes, and the first group (Group A) start at 7:30 AM, while groups are launched at intervals of between four and six minutes each, with the last group (Group Y) starting at 9:05 AM. Due to the limited number of spaces available in the race, as well as the three and a half month advance registration requirement, some people have attempted to sell their number on eBay and craigslist, although this practice is prohibited by Atlanta Track Club. Runners who are assigned a number for the race, and subsequently cannot run, are able to return their number to Atlanta Track Club in exchange for a card guaranteeing placement in next year's race. (Registration fees, however, are not refunded.) On July 4, 2007, three men were caught sneaking in to the AJC Peachtree Road Race. In addition to a $1,000 fine, each was banned from the AJC Peachtree Road Race for life.

Course description

The AJC Peachtree Road Race is a 10,000-meter road race. The race starts on Peachtree Road at Lenox Square Mall (just south of Lenox Road). The race continues down Peachtree into midtown Atlanta, turning left onto 10th Street for the final kilometer before ending at 10th St. and Charles Allen Drive.

provides the setting for post-race festivities that include a stage for live performances and an awards ceremony. After a largely downhill first half, runners cross Peachtree Creek and tackle the grueling 3/4 mile-long "Cardiac Hill," which culminates at Peachtree and Collier Rd. in front of Piedmont Hospital. Mile 5 has been known as the Olympic Mile, where banners and theme music entertained IOC members in 1990 during Atlanta's bid for the

1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

. In 2008, because of severe drought conditions, the race was unable to end in Piedmont Park, and runners turned east onto 10th Street before heading to Juniper Street, ending at the intersection of Ponce de Leon and Juniper St, where racers finished by going uphill instead of the older downhill stretch of 10th St. Runners then walked a short distance to the Atlanta Civic Center for finish-line festivities. This unpopular course lasted one year, after which the course returned to the traditional pattern. As typical of other road races, the roads used are completely closed to vehicular traffic and observers watch from the sidewalks. Water is provided at each mile; approximately 500,000 cups and 120,000 gallons of water are used. Approximately 3,000 volunteers are needed to work the race. Due to the large crowds, limited parking and road closures, many runners utilize

MARTA Marta may refer to: People * Marta (given name), a feminine given name * Märta, a feminine given name * Marta (surname) :István Márta composer * Marta (footballer) (born 1986), Brazilian professional footballer Places * Marta (river), an ...

to travel to the start site and back from the finish line.

Official starters

University of Georgia track and field coach Spec Towns shot the starter pistol to start the first Peachtree Road Race in 1970. Georgia Governor

Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (born October 1, 1924) is an American politician who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he previously served as th ...

started the second race and Georgia Lt. Governor

Lester Maddox Lester Garfield Maddox Sr. (September 30, 1915 – June 25, 2003) was an American politician who served as the 75th governor of the U.S. state of Georgia from 1967 to 1971. A populist Democrat, Maddox came to prominence as a staunch segregationis ...

the third. Since then, many notable people—including politicians, sportswriters, and an entertainer—have started the race.

Original 110

The 110 runners who finished the first Peachtree Road Race are known as the "Original 110". As of July 4, 2022, Bill Thorn Sr. is the only runner to finish every Peachtree Road Race.

T-shirts

The official race T-shirt is perhaps the most popular aspect of the AJC Peachtree Road Race, perhaps due to the limited numbers of T-shirts available in the early race years. Each year a different design is chosen through a contest sponsored by ''

'' newspaper and a limited number of shirts are made. T-shirts are available to only those runners who finish the race, and thus have become a status-symbol among Atlanta culture.

Race financials

It is estimated that the AJC Peachtree Road Race costs over $1,000,000, if in-kind contributions are included. The race must pay between $25,000 and $30,000 to government agencies for their costs of supporting the race. T-shirts for runners and volunteers are estimated to cost over $200,000. The race also pays $25,000 for its timing system and $100,000 for contract labor. The AJC Peachtree Road Race was estimated in 2003 to have an economic impact over $10,000,000. Profits from the race entry fees and sponsorships are used to fund the Atlanta Track Club.

Events

Race competitions

Kilometer Kids Charity Chase

First held during the 2014 race, the annual ''Kilometer Kids Charity Chase'' features six teams representing each branch of the military:

Air Force An air force – in the broadest sense – is the national military branch that primarily conducts aerial warfare. More specifically, it is the branch of a nation's armed services that is responsible for aerial warfare as distinct from an a ...

Army An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...

Coast Guard A coast guard or coastguard is a maritime security organization of a particular country. The term embraces wide range of responsibilities in different countries, from being a heavily armed military force with customs and security duties to ...

Marine Corps Marines, or naval infantry, are typically a military force trained to operate in littoral zones in support of naval operations. Historically, tasks undertaken by marines have included helping maintain discipline and order aboard the ship (refle ...

National Guard National Guard is the name used by a wide variety of current and historical uniformed organizations in different countries. The original National Guard was formed during the French Revolution around a cadre of defectors from the French Guards. Nat ...

and the

Navy A navy, naval force, or maritime force is the branch of a nation's armed forces principally designated for naval warfare, naval and amphibious warfare; namely, lake-borne, riverine, littoral zone, littoral, or ocean-borne combat operations and ...

. Each team will have six runners each, all competing for bragging rights in two areas: the fastest military branch, and the team that receives the most donations for Atlanta Track Club's Kilometer Kids youth running program.
The military competition takes place after the Shepherd Center Wheelchair Division of the AJC Peachtree Road Race, and before the Peachtree Cup elite competition and general race waves begin. The online portion of the fundraiser allows supporters to select a military team at the time of donation. All proceeds go towards the Atlanta Track Club's Kilometer Kids youth program. Starting in 2015, a portion of the donations are to go towards starting a Kilometer Kids program at

Fort Benning Fort Benning is a United States Army post near Columbus, Georgia, adjacent to the Alabama–Georgia border. Fort Benning supports more than 120,000 active-duty military, family members, reserve component soldiers, retirees and civilian employees ...

, the first one to be established on a military base.

Peachtree Cup

The Peachtree Cup is an elite team competition which had its inaugural at the 2015 Peachtree Road Race. The competition takes place after the Kilometer Kids Charity Chase and before the general race waves began their run. The Peachtree Cup features four entries: Team USA, Team Africa, Team Asia, and Team Europe. The roster of each team consist of six athletes, three men and three women vying for international bragging rights. One member of each team is selected as the team captain. The determining of the winning team consists of combining each of the team members’ individual finish times together and the team with the fastest cumulative time is the winner. The team that comes in first place will receive the first-place prize of $42,000 US.

Race series

Triple Peach Race Series

The Atlanta Track Club Triple Peach Race Series presented by

Mizuno () is a Japanese sports equipment and sportswear company, founded in Osaka in 1906 by Rihachi Mizuno. Today, Mizuno is a global corporation which makes a wide variety of sports equipment and sportswear for badminton, baseball, boxing, cycling ...

, a program designed to improve the

running experience, features three of

's top running events: AJC Peachtree Road Race, Atlanta 10-Miler (in October) and the Thanksgiving Day Half Marathon (Thanksgiving Day) (all races that were part of the original

). The annual race series was started in 2013 by the Atlanta Track Club and partner sponsor

Volkswagen Group of America Volkswagen Group of America, Inc. (sometimes referred to as Volkswagen of America, abbreviated to VWoA), is the North American operational headquarters, and subsidiary of the Volkswagen Group of automobile companies of Germany. VWoA is responsi ...

. It was originally called the ''VW Triple Peach'', but Volkswagen of America dropped its sponsorship of the race after only the first year, resulting in the race series' being renamed the ''Atlanta Track Club Triple Peach Race Series'' the following year, 2014. In 2015,

Mizuno Corporation () is a Japanese sports equipment and sportswear company, founded in Osaka in 1906 by Rihachi Mizuno. Today, Mizuno is a global corporation which makes a wide variety of sports equipment and sportswear for badminton, baseball, boxing, cycling ...

become the new program sponsor. The Triple Peach is limited to 4,000 participants. Registration includes one low price for the Atlanta 10-Miler and the Thanksgiving Day Half Marathon. All participants receive a Triple Peach finisher's medal and Triple Peach finisher's T-shirt. The program also uses unique bibs that allow participants the opportunity to self-seed in the start corrals at both the Atlanta 10-Miler and the Thanksgiving Day Half Marathon. Upon finishing the Thanksgiving Day Half Marathon, Triple Peach participants meet at a special celebration area to be officially recognized and to fine-tune the program for the coming year. The 2020 Triple Peach was cancelled as a result of the pandemic; however, the other two races were held, the Michelin Raceway Atlanta 10-Miler and the

Publix Half Marathon in February 2021 were still held.

Wheelchair division

Founded in 1982 by the

, the ''Shepherd Center Wheelchair Division of AJC Peachtree Road Race'' precedes the foot race, starting at 6:45 am. The wheelchair division follows the same 10-kilometer course run by the foot runners down Peachtree Road, starting at Lenox Road and ending on 10th Street at Piedmont Park in Midtown. Since its 1981 founding, the wheelchair division has grown in popularity so that the race now attracts more than 78 wheelchair racers ranging in age from 16 to 69 and representing more than nine countries. Today, the ''Shepherd Center Wheelchair Division of AJC Peachtree Road Race'' is considered one of the largest and fastest wheelchair 10K races in the country and is a favorite for many racers who return year after year.

Wheelchair race divisions

The

and its Junior Committee fund and organize the wheelchair division race in cooperation with the Atlanta Track Club. Funding provides pre-and post-race brunches, defrayed travel and lodging expenses for racers and a $34,000 purse for winners. The ''Shepherd Center Wheelchair Division of AJC Peachtree Road Race'' racing divisions are as follows: *Open Men’s Division *Open Women’s Division *Open Quad Division (some upper-body paralysis) *T-1 Quad Division (more paralysis with limited hand function) *Masters Division (ages 40 to 50) *Junior Division (ages 12 to 21) *Grand Masters (ages 50 and over) *Push-Assist Division - Trials 2014 and 2015, officially added as a division in 2016.

Overseas races

Since 2004, satellite Peachtree Races have been held for US soldiers stationed overseas. The first race was held in

Iraq Iraq,; ku, عێراق, translit=Êraq officially the Republic of Iraq, '; ku, کۆماری عێراق, translit=Komarî Êraq is a country in Western Asia. It is bordered by Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq ...

. In 2007, five separate races were held on July 4 (one in

Kuwait Kuwait (; ar, الكويت ', or ), officially the State of Kuwait ( ar, دولة الكويت '), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated in the northern edge of Eastern Arabia at the tip of the Persian Gulf, bordering Iraq to the nort ...

, three in Iraq, and one in

Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...

) with a combined total of 3000 participants. The Atlanta Track Club sends race supplies, including T-shirts, to the runners. Image:Peachtreeraceoverseas.jpg, 2007 running of the Peachtree Road Race in

File:U.S. service members participate in the AJC Peachtree Road Race.jpg, 2013 running of the Peachtree Road Race in

File:Peachtree Road Race 2015 Kuwait Division.jpg, 2015 running of the Peachtree Road Race in

Peachtree Junior

Started in 1987, ''The Peachtree Junior'' consists of three races: *3 kilometer (1.9 mi) race open to children ages 7 to 14 * for ages 5–9 *''Lil' Peach'', a Dash race for ages 6 & younger Starting in 2015, ten Kid-Friendly

Decathlon The decathlon is a combined event in Athletics (sport), athletics consisting of ten track and field events. The word "decathlon" was formed, in analogy to the word "pentathlon", from Greek language, Greek δέκα (''déka'', meaning "ten") and ...

events were added to the Peachtree Junior. The decatlon events take place upon completion of the each of the three Peachtree Junior races and are open to participants ages fourteen and under. *3K or 1/2K *40yd dash *

High jump The high jump is a track and field event in which competitors must jump unaided over a horizontal bar placed at measured heights without dislodging it. In its modern, most-practiced format, a bar is placed between two standards with a crash mat f ...

Shot put The shot put is a track and field event involving "putting" (throwing) a heavy spherical ball—the ''shot''—as far as possible. The shot put competition for men has been a part of the modern Olympics since their revival in 1896, and women's ...

Long jump The long jump is a track and field event in which athletes combine speed, strength and agility in an attempt to leap as far as possible from a takeoff point. Along with the triple jump, the two events that measure jumping for distance as a gr ...

* Discus *Turbo

javelin A javelin is a light spear designed primarily to be thrown, historically as a ranged weapon, but today predominantly for sport. The javelin is almost always thrown by hand, unlike the sling, bow, and crossbow, which launch projectiles with th ...

Hurdles Hurdling is the act of jumping over an obstacle at a high speed or in a sprint. In the early 19th century, hurdlers ran at and jumped over each hurdle (sometimes known as 'burgles'), landing on both feet and checking their forward motion. Today, ...

*Standing broad jump *Shuttle relay The race is designed to be a shorter and safer version of the longer Peachtree Road Race. All race participants get the opportunity to take part in the ''Peachtree Jr. Challenge,'' which awards scholarships to the top three organizations that sign up the most kids. The event is held in late May or early June. The entire course is within the confines of

. The race is limited to 2,500 participants. T-shirts are given to all race finishers. The event has been held for over 20 years.

Peachtree Jr. course and date changes

For the First time ever in Peachtree Jr. history and in correlation with the 50th running of the Peachtree Road Race, 2019, the Atlanta Track Club decided to move the Peachtree Jr. permanently to July 3 as part of the Peachtree Road Race experience. As part of the move to July 3, the course was changed to include for the first time a portion of the official Peachtree Road Race 10K course thus leaving the confines within Piedmont Park for the first time as well. The start of the course would be located at the corner of Charles Allen Drive and Piedmont Park Avenue next to the south portion of Lake Clara Meer within the Piedmont Park boundary. Runners would head west on Piedmont Park Avenue still inside Piedmont Park until they reached 12th Street Gate leaving the park. Portions of the Peachtree Road Race 10K course used for the Peachtree Jr. would be the south portion of Piedmont Avenue from the 12th Street Gate and the 10th Street portion that includes the same finish on 10th Street as the 10K .

Past winners

AJC Peachtree Road Race 2013 Winners Medal

The men's course record is 27:01 minutes, set by

Rhonex Kipruto Rhonex Kipruto (born 12 October 1999) is a Kenyan long-distance runner. He is the 2018 10,000 metres world U20 champion and the 2019 10,000 metres world championships bronze medalist. His 10 km road race personal best of 26:24, set Januar ...

in 2019.

Lornah Kiplagat Lornah Kiplagat (born 1 May 1974) is a Dutch professional long-distance runner. She was born in Kabiemit, Rift Valley Province, Kenya and came to the Netherlands in 1999. She gained Dutch citizenship in 2003 and has competed for the Netherland ...

is the women's record holder with her run of 30:32 from 2002. The record for the wheelchair division of the Peachtree Road Race is 18:38:06 ( Saul Mendoza) 2004. The women's division record is 22:09:97 (Edith Hunkler) 2009. Gayle Barron and Lornah Kiplagat are the athletes with the most victories in the history of the Peachtree Road Race. Barron won in the women's division on five occasions (1970–71, 1973–75), while Kiplagat had her victories from 2000–2002 and 2005–2006. Key:

Past wheelchair division winners

Key:

Past Peachtree Cup winners

Key:

References

External links

Official AJC Peachtree Road Race SiteRunpeachtree.com - for runners of the Peachtree Road RaceTitle sponsor of The AJC Peachtree Road Race - The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
{{Thanksgiving Sports competitions in Atlanta 10K runs Independence Day (United States) Recurring sporting events established in 1970 Tourist attractions in Atlanta 1970 establishments in Georgia (U.S. state)