Peachtree Road Race

AJC Peachtree Road Race
logo unveiled January 2015
Location	Atlanta, Georgia
Distance	10 kilometers (6.2 mi)
Established	July 4, 1970
Participants	60,000

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Peachtree Road Race is a 10-kilometer run held annually in Atlanta, Georgia, on July 4, Independence Day. The AJC Peachtree Road Race is the world's largest 10-kilometer race (an estimated 60,000 participants in 2011), a title it has held since the late 1970s. The race has become a city-wide tradition in which over 70,000 amateur and professional runners try to register for one of the limited 60,000 spots. The event also includes a wheelchair race (known as the Shepherd Center wheelchair division), which precedes the footrace. In recent years, the race also has a special divisions for soldiers stationed in the Middle East. The race attracts some of the world's elite 10K runners and has served as both the United States' men's and women's 10K championship.

Children can participate in the Peachtree Junior 3K, 1/2K or 50m Dash, held in May.

The AJC Peachtree Road Race was started in 1970 by the Atlanta Track Club. The first year, 110 runners ran from the old Sears building at the corner of Peachtree Road and Roswell Road to Central City Park (now Woodruff Park). The race was sponsored by Carling Brewery. The next year, the race increased to 198 runners. Organizers used the sponsorship money to purchase T-shirts but underestimated the number of participants. T-shirts were given out to the first finishers, until they ran out. In 1972, the organizers ordered only 250 T-shirts but 330 runners ran the race. In 1974, the event grew to 765 runners; in 1975 there were over 1,000 runners.

In 1976, Carling Brewery dropped its sponsorship of the race and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution began sponsoring the race, bringing it added coverage and popularity. That year over 2,300 runners competed. In 1977 over 6,500 runners competed, overwhelming the capacity of Central City Park. As a result, in 1978 the course was moved to starting at Lenox Square and finishing at Piedmont Park. In 1979 the race attracted over 20,000 runners. In 1980, the number of participants was limited to 25,000 runners, which continued until 1990. In 1982, the Shepherd Center wheelchair division was formed for the race.