Today was the 50th anniversary of the Peachtree Road Race. It was the most anticipated race in Atlanta this year. I think this was 8th or 9th year running the race. I have run so many that I have lost count. It was an exciting event of running with 60k people, meeting a few of the original 110 runners, and witnessing the finisher records being broken.

The Expo

The race expo was held on July 2nd and 3rd at its normal location at Georgia World Congress Center. There were many props to celebrate the 50th anniversary of the race. A name wall, the first time I have seen on at the event, was also there. I missed the name wall because I was too busy taking pictures of everything else. I helped with the Hot Chocolate booth and attended the expo both days.

Packet pick up was super quick. I was assigned to Corral H. The expo had tons of vendors who were selling apparel and discounted race entries. I bought a pair of Brooks from Road Runner Sports and spoke to runDisney about running Dopey. Runners had the opportunity to see how long they could run the world record marathon pace on a treadmill. I didn't want to risk injury before the race, so I skipped the treadmill. A few of my run buddies were featured in the pictures throughout the expo.

Race Day

It was HOT! In anticipation of race day conditions, we were all emailed and texted a warning about the warm conditions. The temperature was due more to the humidity than the sun. Due to the heat, I ran a 1:30/1 interval. Since my only goal was run through sprinklers and get sprinkled by Holy Water (I am a sinner), I had no pressures going into the race.

My corral, H, started at 7:35 am. The horn sounded and off to Piedmont Park I went. I met the goals of enjoying sprinklers and Holy Water. I enjoyed the spectators and all the other runners. I drank plenty of Ultima that I brought to the race to stay hydrated. I finished in 1:18 and that was fine with me. I plan to run a faster 10k at Big Peach Sizzler during Labor Day for better Peachtree timing for next year.

The post-race party was held at Piedmont Park. All Atlanta Track Club Members had access to the members-only party at Park Tavern that had food, drinks, and places to sit and wait for your family and friends. My friends and I were featured on the Atlanta Track Club post-race tweet.

I will never forget Peachtree 50! I met a few of original 110 runners on the course, which was amazing. I also ATL Mayor Bottoms during the race. All the race winners broke records, which was absolutely amazing. I am grateful the opportunity to run the race with all my friends and I am looking forward to next year.