The Peachtree Road Race – Another 4th of July In Atlanta
Every year in downtown Atlanta, there’s the Peachtree Road Race on the 4th of July. It’s been an Independence Day tradition since 1970. In 2020, the race was cancelled for the first time ever, but was rescheduled for Thanksgiving that year. After doing the math, I realized, this was my 10th year running the Peachtree Road Race.
What Is The Peachtree Road Race?
The Peachtree Road Race is a 10K run (6.2 miles) through downtown Atlanta. It’s the world’s largest 10K run, with a limit of 60,000 entries. The race was started by the Atlanta Track Club in 1970, with 150 runners signed up. One hundred-ten of those people would complete the race.
From there, it continued to grow little by little each year. By 1976, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution came on as the race sponsor, helping to further promote the race. That year, over 2,300 runners would compete. Throughout the years, the need to cap entries came into play. In 1980, it was capped at 25,000.
In 2011, the race cap was set at 60,000, and the need for an online lottery system arose. After COVID, entries slowed down and the need for the lottery dwindled. This year, the race had over 42,000 runners, and it’s been announced the lottery will return for 2025.
The course also adapted throughout the years. The route from Lenox Square to Piedmont Park was established in 1978 and continues today.
The Atlanta Track Club is the second largest running organization in the United States and has over 24,000 members. They are commited to creating an active and healthy community with events, training programs, and outreach activities.
10th Peachtree Road Race
I can’t believe I’ve run this race 10 times now. After running a 5K (3.1 miles) I never thought I’d run any further distance. Then my mom asked if I wanted to do the Peachtree Road Race in 2015. I said yes, and the rest is history!
Obviously, in 2020, I wound up having to run the race on a treadmill at the gym in November of that year. And even in 2021, I did my race virtually, running it on the Greenway in North Augusta. But still, I’ve officially ran this race 10 times… and to think I never wanted to run farther than 3 miles!
Through the years, we’ve learned to navigate our way pretty well through Marta and downtown Atlanta. But I will say, this year the entries must have picked up significantly. By the time we got on Marta headed North, it was standing room only, and we were packed in there like sardines!
This year, like most of them, was set to be a scorching hot day. I was placed in Wave G this year, which was set to start at 7:35 a.m. I managed to make it there with a few minutes to spare and warm up before getting to take off with my wave.
The first 3 miles I was able to run. But I kept telling myself once I hit an uphill, I would walk. It wasn’t until right around mile 3 that I hit that uphill! After that, there was some walking and some running. I stopped at nearly every water station, and even grabbed a couple of Jell-O shots, some watermelon, and a popsicle along the way. And while I did drink some of the water, almost every time, I poured the remaining water down my back to keep cool.
I finished the race in just over an hour and 8 minutes. It wasn’t my fastest, but also not my slowest. I looked back and one of the first times I ran it, it took me over an hour and a half. So I’d say I’ve come a long way since then!
This is such a fun race to do every year. I didn’t even wear my AirPods because there’s so much to see and hear while you run the streets in Atlanta. The streets are lined with spectators, music is everywhere, and you can just feel the energy of the city.
After ending in Piedmont Park, I grabbed some drinks and snacks, and made the trek back to the Marta station, which I swear gets further and further away each year! While the ride to the race was packed, I was glad it wasn’t so on the way back. That would have made for a sweaty, smelly ride back to the truck!
Fun Photos From The 2024 Peachtree Road Race in Atlanta
