Getting In · Iconic road race
AJC Peachtree Road Race
Sixty thousand people run down Peachtree Street on the Fourth of July in Georgia humidity, and every single one of them gets a T-shirt they had no idea what the design would be. The Peachtree is a civic institution that happens to be a road race.
- Distance
- 10K
- Field
- ~60,000World's largest 10K
- First run
- 1970110 runners
- Date
- July 4, every year
- Entry
- $60 members / $80 lottery
- Best door
- Atlanta Track Club membership
The Peachtree started in 1970 with 110 runners and became the largest 10K in the world. The course runs from Lenox Square in Buckhead down Peachtree Street to Piedmont Park, which sounds simple until you meet Cardiac Hill at mile three, a climb past Piedmont Hospital that has become part of Atlanta's shared vocabulary.
What makes it a bucket list race is not difficulty, it's scale and culture. Neighborhoods set up on their lawns. Bands play the whole way. And the finisher T-shirt design is kept secret until race morning, which has turned into one of the more charming traditions in American running.
How to get in
- Legacy / loyaltyAtlanta Track Club membership
The simplest path by a wide margin. ATC members get guaranteed entry at a lower price, no lottery involved. Membership costs less than the difference in entry fees for a family, which is why so many locals join.
- LotteryThe public lottery
Non-members enter a lottery, typically opening in the spring, at a higher entry price. Odds are far friendlier than a major marathon lottery but the race does fill.
- CharityCharity entries
Partner charity bibs are available and are the fallback after the lottery.
It is July in Georgia
The Peachtree starts early for good reason. Expect high humidity and temperatures climbing through the morning, with wave starts running for hours. Runners in later waves are running in genuinely dangerous conditions if they treat it as a time trial. Hydrate the day before, run by effort, take the hoses the neighbourhoods set up, and treat a hot Peachtree as a social run with 59,999 friends.
Questions runners actually ask
How do I guarantee entry to the Peachtree?
Join the Atlanta Track Club. Members get guaranteed entry at a reduced price, bypassing the public lottery entirely.
How big is the Peachtree really?
Around 60,000 runners, which makes it the largest 10K in the world. Waves start over several hours.
Go to the source
Entry rules, dates, standards, fees, and odds change every single year, and the interesting races change them the most. Use this guide to build the plan; use the official site to confirm the details before you book anything.
If this is your kind of thing
Need the races in between? The hard part of a bucket list year is everything else on the calendar: the qualifier, the tune-up, the long run with a bib on.