Ahead of Thursday’s Atlanta Journal-Constitution Peachtree Road Race, the Georgia World Congress Center was the place to be. Crowds of runners visited the Peachtree Health & Fitness Expo presented by Publix to pick up their credentials and wave designations for the race and have a little fun.
Throughout the center, runners and their families got the chance to buy custom Peachtree Road Race clothing, visit booths from a variety of vendors, receive training tips and get photos with Pete the Peach.
Tracy Wyatt, an Atlanta native and upcoming runner of the race, said that the expo is a time for him to enjoy the crowd of participants and spectators for the upcoming race.
“I just came out to get me a new pair of shoes or something and just enjoy the atmosphere,” Wyatt said. “It’s all about the atmosphere.
Credit: Ben Gray
Credit: Ben Gray
On Tuesday, visitors had the chance to meet and hear from The Atlanta Track Club Elites — a group of competitive runners who will be running alongside, or rather ahead of, the other participants in Thursday’s race.
Olympian and broadcaster Carrie Tollefson introduced the four elites for the panel: Sabastian Sawe, the No. 1 road racer in the world; Emmaculate Anyango, the second fastest women’s 10k runner in history; Jesca Chelangat, last year’s Peachtree Road Race runner-up, and Daniel Romanchuk, who has won the Peachtree Road Race for the last six years in the Shepherd Center Wheelchair Division.
Each of the athletes shared details about their training process, their passion for racing and their strategies for Thursday’s 10k.
Credit: Ben Gray
Credit: Ben Gray
Among the many spectators of the event were parents of the incoming junior elites — 40 high school students selected for the new Elite High School Division of the Track Club. Following the first panel, four of the high school runners — Ben Winn, Liam Haneman, Josie Hutchinson and Mary Nesmith — took the stage.
“I’m honored. I know this is really a special thing,” Haneman said. “And I’m really grateful for The Atlanta Track Club because I know how rare and how unique something like this truly is, and it’s really bettering and investing in youth distance runners in Georgia.”
The junior panelists were joined by Sarah Burwell, a senior runner for Georgia Tech and member of the Track Club. According to Burwell, the junior runners were specifically asked not to train for Thursday’s 10k, and to let the race be preparation for their upcoming season.
“We’re expecting them to try hard and get their masters, but we’re not expecting them to be falling across the line, because it is their first time racing it and we want them to have a fun and safe day,” Burwell said.
Track Club CEO Rich Kenah made news at the event, announcing that registration for the 2025 Peachtree Road Race will be opened up immediately at the finish line for runners. Next year, a lottery system will be installed to establish who gets into the race, according to Kenah.
Credit: Ben Gray
Credit: Ben Gray
This year’s race also marks one of the longest title sponsorships of any race in the country, with The Atlanta Journal-Constitution sponsorship getting its start in 1975. After the COVID-19 pandemic the Peachtree Road Race has been working to restore its high number of participants. According to the Track Club, they are expecting the number of runners to exceed 50,000 this year.
“The presence of the AJC is more extensive than it’s ever been before, the entertainment around the race is more than it’s been before, [and] the support of the runners is more than it’s ever been before, so it’s going to be pretty vibrant this year,” said AJC president and publisher Andrew Morse.
