Polar Opposite Peachtree Road Race stages second successful event
Tim Hynes has been running The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Peachtree Road Race since 1997, but this time the 76-year-old decided to give the Polar Opposite Peachtree Road Race a chance for the second time in a row.
“It was fun because it was a smaller race last year, but the temperature is perfect this year,” Hynes said.
As an expert running the July Fourth Peachtree, Hynes said the hills on Peachtree Road are worse going north toward Lenox Square Mall than south to Piedmont Park.
The course, which is still 10K, follows the same path as the summertime Peachtree race but in reverse with the finish line at Lenox Square.
He plans to continue running both races until his body tells him no more.
“Any race I can finish at this age is a great time,” Hynes said.
Hynes was among 9,000 people who competed and helped sell out spots in the second annual Polar Opposite race.
Atlanta Track Club CEO Rich Kenah said they are already registering people for next year’s race and plan to grow a little bit next year.
“We’re going to carefully grow. We’re not going to grow exponentially like the July Fourth Peachtree did, but we see the demand and we see an interest in more and more people in Atlanta wanting to run and walk, which is part of a national trend,” Kenah said.
The idea came about in July 2023, when Atlanta Track Club saw a growing demand for all things Peachtree, Kenah said. The first race last January had 5,000 runners, so seeing it almost double in size just in a year was a huge accomplishment.
“It’s an endorsement of the interest in this community to socialize and get healthy at the same time, so our core values are community, camaraderie, competition and you saw that right here in this parking lot,” Kenah said. “We’re going to grow incrementally, so next year we’ll grow a little bit, but we’re not going to double every year.”
Jay Zimmerman had never run a 10K, but was convinced by friends to give the Polar Opposite race a try. He said he is now going to try to run the Peachtree Road Race in July.
“It was a lot tougher that I thought it would be but it was great to be able to push through at the very end there,” Zimmerman said.
Erin Patrick ran the Polar Opposite last year and enjoyed it, so she decided to run it again this year. She said the course was as difficult as last year, considering the whole second half is uphill, which makes it challenging.
“I like this one better. I like that it’s colder, a bit more challenging with the uphill in the second half,” Patrick said.
Last year’s race was cooler, with temperatures in the mid-20s. However, this year it was warmer with temperatures in the mid-50s with cloudy skies and a little bit of rain as runners took off from Piedmont Park. The morning was foggy as well but that didn’t stop people to begin lining up with signs, small children and even pets around the finish line to cheer on the runners.
At the finish line, Ellen Lee waited for her daughter, Amanda Ostrosky, to finish. Lee said Ostrovsky is an Atlanta Track Club member who runs races on a regular basis, including a recent 50K race in Florida.
“It’s interesting. She is excited to be running the opposite direction, she likes that,” Lee said.
The race also awarded prize money to the top three male and female finishers: first place earned $500, second $250 and third $125, with checks being presented on stage, while nearby runners took commemorative photos.
This year’s winner, Nathan Solomon, finished the race at 32:26 minutes, beating the second place finisher by 45 seconds. Solomon said he used to run the Peachtree when he was younger but decided to run the Polar Opposite this year.
He didn’t think it would be harder to run it the opposite direction, but it was.
“After 3.5 miles, I just felt like I was running uphill for the whole rest of the race. It was getting tough, kind of around that point,” Solomon said. “I felt like I wanted to fall apart there.”
Solomon, who competed with Georgia Tech’s Track and Field team last year, said it was nice to see the crowd cheering for him as he crossed the finish line.
On whether he plans to defend his crown next year, Solomon had no doubts.
“God willing, I definitely plan to come out again, I love coming out to these races,” he said.
To register for next year’s race, click here.
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