Race day has ended, and more than 50,000 runners from across the metro — and around the world — have completed the 57th running of the “world’s largest 10K.”
Check out the recap video below for the day’s complete livestream of the race.
And follow the AJC’s ongoing live updates:
Matt Valaoras held a plank for more than two hours as the last runners crossed the finish line during the Peachtree Road Race.
The UGA alum ultimately held the plank for two hours and 50 minutes to honor the nation's 250th anniversary and is now training to break the Guinness World Record, which stands at nine hours and 38 minutes.
As soon as Valaoras, 23, finished the challenge, he looked up to the sky and gave thanks.
“Foremost, all glory to God,” he said. “I emptied the tank, and I was just praying the last like hour.”
For Valaoras, this is more than just a record, it's about impact. Valaoras was out raising money for Kilometer Kids, Atlanta Track Club's oldest and largest youth running program and a cause very near to his heart.
“I started running about a year ago, and to give kids the extra opportunity to be able to do the things that I was able to do growing up matters,” Valaoras said. “It means the world to me to be able to support such a great cause."
For Valaoras, completing the challenge on Independence Day in front of so many supportive people who stopped by to speak with him and to give him water made the accomplishment even more meaningful.
“This is an awesome country and it's awesome to see everyone come out and spend the Fourth of July doing hard things like going and running the 10K,” he said. “Everyone is so supportive here, and it's just great to be an American and to live in this country and have all the freedoms that we have.”
Valaoras hopes to inspire people through his story and social media presence, encouraging them to get out of their comfort zone and conquer the challenges they thought were once impossible.
Racers are piling into MARTA's Midtown station after completing the 2026 Peachtree Road Race.
Lines outside the gates are packed and the gates have been left open, allowing people to come in through both sides.
Philip, Alissa and Maureen Cheek have been running the Peachtree for more than 20 years.
“It’s a 6.2 mile long party,” Philip said. “Most other races you don’t have people cheering for you the entire length of it.”
To prepare for the heat, the Cheeks stayed extra hydrated, slowed their pace and took more walking breaks throughout the course.
But in the end, the Georgia heat wasn’t nearly as bad as they were expecting, especially compared to the last few days.
“The last few days being outside for work made me think this was not going to be a fun time to do the race,” Philip said.
Atlanta Parai Team serenaded runners on their final mile with traditional music played on one of the oldest instruments from India.
Madhu Srinivasan said she and the band have been at their tent since 4:30 this morning to cheer on the runners. Runners passing by loved hearing the sounds coming from the percussion instruments, and one older woman even took a break from the 10K to dance with the players.
Srinivasan said the APT, who have been playing together for 10 years now, came back to the Peachtree Road Race after winning first place of all the bands at their first Peachtree a year ago.
Many runners are receiving texts from race organizers advising them to move out of Piedmont Park after completing the race.
“As the temperatures are rising, we just wanna make sure people are moving through and getting what they need," Natalie Cabanas, communications director for Atlanta Track Club, said. “We are asking participants to exit Piedmont Park after receiving hydration and electrolytes.
The race was run under a red flag status because of the heat and humidity.
“It means we want people to proceed with caution, slow down, listen to their body,” she said. “And follow the instructions of our volunteers.
Cabanas said runners should be mindful of the heat conditions and said the race organizers will continue to push out updates through their text alert system.
Just blocks away from the finish line, the temperature has hit 80 degrees. With the humidity, it feels like 84 in Piedmont Park.
A group of redcoats led by Micah Wedemeyer railed against the errant traitors on Peachtree Street
“Shame! Shame! We will accept you back,” Wedemeyer said, waving his Union Jack.
Wedemeyer had the idea with fellow redcoat Arthur Leao for a while, but his wife finally said he should give it a try this year.
“You can’t have a good story without a villain. You can’t have ‘Star Wars’ without the empire.”
Patriotic bystanders engaged in playful arguments with the British soldiers and waved Old Glory in response.
“People love it,” Wedemeyer said.
The first group of spectators racers see as they approach Hope Hill are staff and patients from the Shepherd Center, all wearing yellow shirts that say "Hope."
Nurses arrive at 5:30 a.m. to bathe and dress patients in time for the first race, and many stay well into midmorning. Ramiyah Dumas and Jaden Shaw, both patient care technicians, say they aren’t required to attend the race, but enjoy supporting the patients and racers.
“It’s nice because the runners try to interact with the patients, and (the patients) get the armbands and stuff to hand out,” Shaw said. “With being in the hospital at this time and not being able to spend the Fourth with their family, being able to help encourage somebody else can kind of help them feel a little bit better.”
Tiara Calderwood, a nurse tech at the Shepherd Center, is spending her second Peachtree Road Race passing out wristbands and encouraging racers.
She finds this race to be about as hot as the last one, but was glad to see more water stations and fans in attendance.
Calderwood said seeing her patients cheering racers along is the reason why she spends her Fourth of July at the race.
“I love caring for them. I love my job.”
Calderwood admires how racers are getting through the incline on Hope Hill. “I feel like they’re handling it quite well. Better than I would, at least!”
As the Peachtree Road Race continues through Atlanta, runners make a special stop outside St. Philip’s Cathedral, where the Very Reverend Sam Candler offers blessings to all.
Candler said most runners “swerve to this side of the street because they don’t want to miss the blessing,” often calling out, “Bless me, Father!” or “Thank you, Father!”
Regardless of faith, the tradition brings people together.
“I bless them no matter what tradition they are,” Candler said. “And they like that.”
Often regarded as one of the highlights of the race, Candler said “it’s an honor” to be part of the annual tradition. “It started as a funny little thing 27 years ago and has developed into a great tradition,” he said.
After nearly three decades, Candler said he continues returning every Fourth of July for the same reason: “The blessings of all sorts and conditions of humanity. That’s what I’m called to do.”
America's 250th has runners feeling especially patriotic this year.
Joseph Sullivan, 13, opted to wear a hot dog costume and an America-themed cowboy hat for his fourth Peachtree Road Race.
“It was 250, so I decided that I wanted to celebrate a little bit more than the other ones,” Sullivan, who finished this year’s race with a personal best of 56 minutes, said.
Meanwhile, Crystal Zimmer, 47, just finished her 10th Peachtree Road Race and says she feels better than she thought she would.
“Everybody was so supportive and awesome. This is what America is to me, celebrating and being here for each other.”
She added there's no other way she’d want to spend her Fourth of July, and chose to dress up as Wonder Woman as a tribute to Lynda Carter, star of the 1970s “Wonder Woman” series.
More than 50,000 runners take to the streets for the Northside Hospital Peachtree Road Race, but thousands more will run virtually.
Check out our guide to submitting your results for virtual runs.