These three words were repeated often by many who crossed the finish line at the 47th Atlanta Journal-Constitution Peachtree Road Race on Monday: “God, it’s hot.”
Battling temperatures that eventually landed in the high-80s with don’t-say-it’s-a-dry-heat humidity that matched, Tanzanian 19-year-old Gabriel Geay surprised many to win the 10K men’s race in 28:48.50. He is thought to be the race’s youngest winner. Kenya’s Edna Kiplagat won the women’s race in 32:24. Both times were unofficial.
But the real winners were everyone who felt one of the few breezes that were as sweet as Waffle House iced tea, and were able to cross the finish line. There were no serious health-related issues in the race as of 11:30 a.m., according to the Atlanta Track Club.
“It was brutal,” said Abdi Abdirahman, the top U.S. finisher, who completed the 6.2 miles in 29:23.30.
Abdirahman said he felt the hovering humidity around 3 1/2-4 miles into the race.
“At that time, you are just trying to relax and get to the finish line,” Abdirahman said. “It was just … oh, man.”
The start-time temperature of 73 degrees for the elite women was the race’s hottest since 2005, which also was 73 degrees.
The Atlanta Track Club used social media to encourage participants to hydrate in the days before the race. In addition, water stops with thousands of cups of water each and misting stations that typically are on the course were also used.
The conditions led to race organizers switching from a yellow flag, used to indicate moderate conditions, to red, signifying dangerous conditions, at 8:30 a.m. to alert the several flights that had yet to start.
“We wanted to err on the side of caution,” Atlanta Track Club Executive Director Rich Kenah said.
Overall, 32 people were taken to a local hospital and treated for illnesses and injuries, some heat-related, the track club reported.
Samantha Kanatzar said running Monday was tougher than the Peachtree satellite race she ran last year in Kuwait in what she said was 130-degree heat.
“I think so — the humidity,” she said. “It probably feels hotter. Maybe that’s just all the beer I was drinking.”
Members of the Atlanta Fire Department moved through the participants in the later flights to make sure that everyone was dealing with the increasing heat as they worked the course.
“From start to finish we had everything for those moving slower in the back,” Kenah said.
Olympian Jared Ward, like Geay, Kiplagat and Abdirahman, looked as if he just stepped out of a shower as he did postrace interviews.
“It certainly caught me by surprise how harder it was to cool yourself off,” said Ward, who will compete in the marathon in the Rio Summer Olympics next month. He completed the Peachtree Road Race in 29:28.72.
Geay sliced through the heat to surprise the field to win his first major race in the U.S. in his first summer competing here. He was such a darkhorse that Atlanta Track Club organizers didn’t include biography information about him in the race packet.
Geay edged Kenyans Daniel Salel (28:48.65) and Philip Langat (28:51.40) to set a personal record in a 10K.
Like others, Geay said it was very hot, but training in his native Tanzania helped him win the race.
“I’m very happy to win this race,” he said. “I didn’t know when I won because the two Kenyans are very strong.”
The women’s race featured a tight finish with Kiplagat holding off Buze Diriba (32:27.76) and Lineth Chepkurui (33:23.09), a three-time Peachtree champ, in the final mile.
“I knew I was strong, but I had to be very strong in mind,” Kiplagat said.
Josh George won the men’s wheelchair division in an unofficial time of 20 minutes, 19 seconds. Tatyana McFadden repeated as the women’s champ in an unofficial time of 24 minutes, 16 seconds.
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