Sammy Kitwara and Lineth Chepkurui, a pair of two-time champions, highlight the field for Wednesday's Atlanta Journal-Constitution Peachtree Road Race.
Kitwara, a 25-year-old native of Kenya, will be attempting to defend last year's victory. The top seed in the Open men's field, Kitwara has two victories earlier this year in the World's Best 10k in Puerto Rico and at the Bay to Breakers 12k in San Francisco. But he said Atlanta, where he also won the Peachtree in 2009, holds a special place for him.
"I love this place," he said. "I love the Peachtree. The people are so friendly."
Chepkurui, also a 25-year-old native of Kenya, has struggled with a hip injury this year. But she said she feels better and is ready to try to win the Peachtree for the first time since taking it in 2009 and 2010. This will be her first competition on U.S. roads this year. She failed in a bid to make the Kenyan Olympic team, but she found a silver lining.
"I lost a chance to go to the Olympics, but I have a chance to go to Peachtree, so I am so happy," she said.
Chepkurui was originally the third seed, but will be the second seed behind Mamitu Daska, who has four victories this year. Linet Masai, the top seed, withdrew citing sickness. Werknesh Kidane, last year's winner, withdrew with an undisclosed illness.
It can be difficult to put together an elite field during an Olympic year because some nations schedule national-team qualifiers in late June-early July, but this year's field in all categories — Open Men, Open Women, Masters Men, Masters Women, and the wheelchair divisions — was described as deep by Atlanta Track Club organizers.
Eleven athletes who qualified for the Paralympic Games will compete in the men's and women's wheelchair divisions, including defending men's champ Krige Schabort. A native of South Africa, Schabort will compete as a U.S. citizen in London. He qualified in the marathon and 5,000-meter race. Tatyana McFadden, the two-time defending women's champ, also qualified for the Olympics in the marathon, 100-, 400-, 800- and 1,500-meter races.
AJC Peachtree Road Race schedule
The schedule for Wednesday's Atlanta Journal-Constitution Peachtree Road Race:
Tuesday
10 a.m.-7 p.m.: AJC Peachtree Health and Fitness Expo at Georgia World Congress Center. Runners can pick up their numbers.
9 p.m.: Overseas races start.
Wednesday
6:45 a.m.: Wheelchair division starts.
7:17 a.m.: Professional women's footrace division starts.
7:30 a.m.: Professional men's footrace division starts and first waves begin.
9:05 a.m.: Last wave (Y) begins.
9:30 a.m.: Awards ceremony.
Noon: Race closed.
Flag system
Wednesday's Atlanta Journal-Constitution Peachtree Road Race has adopted a flag system to alert runners to race-day conditions. The flags will be flown throughout the course:
- A green flag is a low alert, symbolizing good conditions for heat and humidity.
- A yellow flag is a moderate alert, meaning less-than-ideal conditions. Runners should consider slowing down.
- A red flag is a high alert, meaning runners are facing potentially dangerous conditions. They should consider slowing down and keeping a keen eye on the temperature.
- A black flag is an extreme alert level, which would result in the runners being asked to stop.
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