Will this year’s Peachtree Road Race be the hottest?
This year’s running of the Northside Hospital Peachtree Road Race could be one of the hottest in the race’s history.
The Atlanta Track Club announced Thursday that the race will start under red flag conditions, the first time since 2017.
The National Weather Service forecast for Saturday morning predicts it could be almost 80 degrees at the starting line at 7 a.m.
By 9 a.m., the heat index — or “feels like” temperature, which takes humidity into account — is forecast to be 86 degrees.
While comparing temperature data over the race’s 56-year history, it’s worth noting that the race’s start time has gradually moved earlier from 9:30 a.m. in 1970 to its current time of 7:00 a.m.
Besides humidity, other factors can contribute to how hot each year’s race feels to a runner, including starting wave start times and the duration of a runner’s time on the course.
That said, according to Atlanta Track Club’s official starting temperatures, there have been six years where the race began in heat greater than 80 degrees, but each of those began at 8 a.m or later. The race has started in yellow flag conditions since 2022.
The AJC studied weather reports for every 15 minutes on the mornings of the races between 2019–2025 from a weather station in Brookhaven, a few miles from the start line.