Some people like to run for no particular reason. I am not one of those. About the only time I run is if I’m playing a sport that involves a ball. Or if my life is in danger. I know I’m not alone–there are many who feel the same way. But something happens in Atlanta every July 4th where everyone forgets those notions, laces up their sneakers, and races down the road on foot. Out-of-towners even plan their Atlanta vacation around this day so they can take part in the running insanity too–it’s the Peachtree Road Race.
The 10-kilometer event calls out to the young and old, professional marathoners and weekend warriors, fitness enthusiasts and people who are way out of shape, and every one in between–with 55,000 participants each year, it’s routinely one of the world’s largest 10k runs. Regardless of where you finish (almost certainly far behind a Kenyan athlete who seems to win it every year), the Peachtree Road Race is one of the hottest (literally and figuratively) events in Atlanta this weekend.
What began in 1970 as a 110-person event stretching along Peachtree Road and hosted by the Atlanta Track Club has exploded in its popularity. And not just by the runners–more than 150,000 people will line the streets to root on their friends and family, or volunteer to support them with drinks and sprays of water. Some observers just show up to witness things you typically don’t see in a race, such as firemen running in their full turn-out gear (including the hats and boots), painted bodies of participants showcasing star-spangled displays, entire organizations boasting their corporate colors and even a few strutting Statues of Liberty. It’s not all fast-paced though, as many choose to walk the course.
The course begins on the road bearing its name at Lenox Square Mall in the heart of Buckhead, climaxes at “Cardiac Hill” at the fourth-mile marker near Piedmont Hospital, and finishes at Atlanta’s well-known Piedmont Park. Nine different starting groups make up the field of runners, and getting a low number is always a competition in and of itself among partakers before the starting gun even fires. With 60,000 applications received on average each year and 5,000 less spots available, some don’t even get a number, causing a few of those who do to auction them off to the highest bidder because the demand is so great.
To qualify, a documented 10k time is required of all particpants, and everyone who finishes gets an official t-shirt–a highly valued trophy in the Peach State that signifies bragging rights of their fleet-footed feat. There’s also a wheelchair race that precedes the footrace where you will be highly impressed at the speed and stamina of these athletes.
If you’re a fitness enthusiast who likes to travel around to the many different city-hosted races across the country, the Peachtree Road Race is one you won’t want to miss. You just won’t see me running next to you.
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