AJC Peachtree Road Race
AJC Peachtree Road Race

WATCH: A 10k Sweet As A Peach

World’s largest 10K started out small: A video history of the AJC Peachtree Road Race

Hard to believe this 60,000 person, 6.2-mile run that takes over Atlanta each July 4th was once so small. Explore the history of the AJC Peachtree Road Race.
By AJC staff
July 3, 2024

It’s hard to believe that a 60,000 person, 6.2-mile run that takes over Atlanta each July 4th was once so small.

How small? When Jeff Galloway won the first Peachtree Road Race in 1970, he had to outrun just 149 competitors. Fast forward to 2024, when the AJC Peachtree Road Race steps off for the 55th time and proudly boasts the title “world’s largest 10K.”

This video tells the Peachtree’s history through the eyes of Galloway and Julia Emmons, the former longtime director of The Atlanta Track Club. Learn the story of the race’s rise from 150 runners to its central place in Atlanta’s Independence Day holiday.

Return to the AJC for coverage of the 2024 race on July 4.

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Atlanta Track Club executive director Rich Kenah in April 2021, holding a briefing at the Atlanta Track Club headquarters about that year's Atlanta Journal-Constitution Peachtree Road Race. (Hyosub Shin / Hyosub.Shin@ajc.com)

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