They've run nearly every Peachtree

Not that it bothers Ward or anything.

"It kills me that Bill Thorn is the only one that's done ‘em all," said Ward, a 61-year-old banker from Marietta, with amusement in his voice.

Instead, Ward, who only became aware of the race a couple years later after its inception, belongs to a slightly less select group: people who have run in nearly all of the 40 Peachtrees. In the culture of the race, where a dresser full of Peachtree T-shirts is a badge of honor, the "Almost-ers" aren't quite the elite, but they're pretty close.

Members include Brian Gamel of Johns Creek, one of the youngest entrants in the first Peachtree, who has run in 38 of 40. Tex McIver, a 67-year-old lawyer from Atlanta, missed the first three, but has run all of them since. Jimmy Haddle, 70, of Douglasville, has run in every Peachtree starting in 1974, which was the first year he heard about the fledgling race. Ward has 35 to his credit.

Have no doubt that Ward, Gamel, McIver, Haddle and other Almost'ers will be at the starting line to continue their strings Sunday morning. For that matter, so will Thorn.

"I plan on being there as long as the Lord keeps me alive," the coach from Tyrone said Wednesday.

"I can never have run them all," Ward said, but added, "I can run 50 of them. Doggone it, I'm going to try to do that."

McIver has valid reasons for not running the Peachtree 1970-72. He was at the University of Texas for law school in 1970 and the next two years, he was in Vietnam serving in the Judge Advocate General's Corps in the Air Force. McIver ran his first in 1973, at the invitation of friends.

"I'd say maybe there were 1,000 of us," said McIver, who lives within walking distance of the starting line at Lenox Square. "Nobody had any nice shoes or pretty clothes or anything like that. We were all pretty ragged."

Nonetheless, McIver soon was hooked. As his string of races grew, he committed to running every year. He celebrates his Fourth with the race, a post-race barbecue and then fireworks at Lenox Square. Like Ward, he's in for the long haul.

"If we McIvers don't smoke, most of us get into our 90's," he said. "As long as I can hobble my [rear end] down there, I'll be around."

At the age of 9, Gamel ran the first Peachtree with his father and brother. Gamel's father Don, in fact, had run every Peachtree until he missed the 1993 race.

Brian Gamel's streak ended sometime in the late 80's or early 90's, when he went to Hilton Head, S.C., for a business convention, he said. He's only missed one since then, that one in 2002 for his wedding. He sounds like someone intent on missing only two.

"We've been offered several years to go places over the Fourth of July weekend," Gamel, 49, said. "I'm like, no, can't do it."

It barely needs mention, but they've have held onto the finisher's T-shirts. Ward wears his shirt on the Fourth, then carefully folds it up and places it in a zippered plastic bag in a closet.

It's hard to say what would keep them from running. McIver said it would have to be "a super good reason." Haddle once ran after pulling his hamstring two days earlier playing soccer.

Said Haddle, "I guess I'm just thankful I'm able to do it and it's nice to be around a whole bunch of other people that can do it, too."