Atlanta native Nick Benson is the winner of the 2024 Atlanta Journal-Constitution Peachtree Road Race T-shirt contest.
Benson said he learned of his win in his family’s group chat before the race even started, but that the reveal was a surprise nonetheless.
Credit: Ashley Quincin
Credit: Ashley Quincin
Holding a T-shirt with his winning design — titled “Peach Planet ATL” — Benson said he was amazed at how different the city looked on foot while running his first road race last year.
”It felt a lot smaller, so I wanted to create that feeling of the whole city as one condensed thing wrapping around a peach where you can almost see everything at the same time,” he said. “That’s what it feels like running the race.”
A tradition since 1976, the official Peachtree T-shirt is a much-coveted item. Before then, during the first few years of the race, runners simply received 15 cents for bus fare back home. In 1995, Atlanta Track Club began seeking design submissions and asking the public to select their favorite.
More than 100 designs were submitted for this year’s contest. A panel of judges from Atlanta Track Club and The Atlanta Journal-Constitution narrowed them down to five before voting began. Benson will receive a $5,500 prize for his design — and the satisfaction of knowing his work is now a piece of Atlanta history.
This was originally published on our Live Updates page.
