The Peachtree Road Race was started in 1970 and soon grew to be a huge Atlanta fourth of July tradition. We surveyed our agents and here are some of their special stories about the Peachtree Road Race. Do you have a Peachtree Story? Tell us in the comments below!
“I have run in about 32 P’tree’s, I was supposed to be in the first,but regretfully missed it and started running the second year. The founder, Tim Singleton,a fellow Georgia Tech alumni, is a very good friend of mine and I am going to his induction to Atlanta Athletics Hall of Fame later this month.” Bill has only missed 10 races- due to relocation to Memphis and Houston. His youngest son was born on July 1st- and that year his wife brought out their three day old baby from Piedmont Hospital to cheer him on!
“I have run in the Peachtree Road Race 15 years now. I first saw the Race as a fan watching from the street cheering on my sister. Some of my fondest memories include running the race twice with my father, running with my sister, watching as many as six family members run in matching t-shirts, and the 2002 Race -when three firefighters ran with full tanks and full gear commemorating those of their comrades who passed during the events of 9/11. The Peachtree Road Race is a very enthusiastic celebration of the Fourth of July as well as The City of Atlanta. High energy, a fun way to exercise…and you never know what you will see there!”
Patti Ellis -“After the race, they route all the runners up 8th Street which is where I live. Every year we sit on our porch and watch 55,000 participates walk by our house.”
From The Buckhead Patch
The Peachtree Road Race will reach new heights this year, with 5,000 additional runners bringing a total of 60,000 participants to the start area at Lenox Square and Phipps Plaza in Buckhead on July 4.
Known as the biggest 10K in the world, the race is growing for the first time since 1998, when the field increased to 55,000.
Tracey Russell, race director for the Buckhead-based Atlanta Track Club, said course changes were made last year to determine if the race could accommodate the additional runners. “That’s why we felt confident that another 5,000 could be included,” she said.
Even so, 2,000 applicants were turned away, she said, although as many as 10,000 plus have been turned away in the past. The ATC this year also went to an online lottery system to determine who would make the field. For more on the Peachtree, including a map of street closures the morning of the race, see the Peachtree Road Race website.
One of Atlanta’s premier traditions, the Peachtree is also a Buckhead institution, with 4 or the race’s 6 miles in the community and runners passing a number of Peachtree Road landmarks in Buckhead, from the malls to the church district to Piedmont Hospital.
While providing the heart of the race’s course, Buckhead also contributes a large number of participant to the race. Zip code 30305 is ninth in the number of runners, 946; 30342, 11th, 856; 30327, 12th, 835; and 30324, 16th, 763. Also, 4 percent of last year’s volunteers lived in Buckhead.