The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Peachtree Road Race is back, and we’re providing full coverage of this weekend. Sunday is day two for this year’s in-person event.
For many runners and spectators, the return of the in-person event also signals a chance to return to more normalcy after the coronavirus pandemic, which delayed and then made last year’s race virtual only.
We’ll be checking with participants and spectators on what this year’s Atlanta Journal-Constitution Peachtree Road Race means to them.
From the start in Buckhead past the infamous Cardiac Hill to the finish line at Piedmont Park, you’ll find everything you need to know about the world’s biggest 10K this holiday weekend.
Here are our live updates from Sunday morning.
Credit: Jason Getz
Credit: Jason Getz
10:20 a.m. - And that’s a wrap. As the final runners make their way towards the finish line, families and friends embrace each other in celebration of finishing the 10K route.
They gather in Piedmont Park, mostly without masks to celebrate one of their first races as the pandemic slows.
Many runners are snapping commemorative photos with the iconic Midtown skyline looming behind them before searching for their ride back home to celebrate the rest of the Fourth of July.
- Sarah Kallis
10 a.m. - A helping hand ... and feet: Andrea Martinson, Heather Turton and Eli Hamner ran the AJC Peachtree Road Race to represent Back on My Feet Atlanta, a nonprofit that helps people experiencing homelessness.
Their group runs with people staying in shelters around Atlanta three times per week. After 30 days, those participating can enter into their next-steps program, which assists with housing and employment.
Hamner, an alum of the program, has run the AJC Peachtree since 2014. Between alumni, partners and volunteers, Turton said the group had nearly 100 participants in the race today.
- Sarah Kallis
9:30 a.m. - Reflections from runners and spectators. Deb Brewer, 58, was thrilled to be back in person for her 28th AJC Peachtree Road Race.
“It was fun to see people,” she said. While Brewer enjoyed being back in person, she misses the crowds and excitement of past years’ races.
“It was weird being on MARTA and not being packed in,” she said.
- Sarah Kallis
Christine Mitchell, a retired Georgia Tech professor, has cheered on runners at the bottom of Cardiac Hill for the past seven years.
She used to run the race before getting a knee replacement years ago.
”Last year was such a bummer. Somebody told me, ‘That was the year that wasn’t,’” Mitchell said. “All the kids that come out this year and first-timers — it’s really cool.”
- Isaiah Poritz
Cinnamon, Hillary and Michael Blozer ran the race as a family for the first time.
Donning festive Fourth of July outfits, the family was thrilled to have the bonding experience of running the race in person.
While Cinnamon and Michael have run the race several times, Hillary ran it for the first time this year.
“It was awesome. It was so encouraging,” Hillary said about running the race with family.
Cinnamon and Michael miss the crowds of prior races, but are thrilled to run it in person after the virtual race last year.
- Sarah Kallis
9 a.m. - “Same energy as before, just less people.” Sharon Silmbee and her son Aaron ran the race for the first time together on Sunday.
They had planned to run in the 2020 race but were unable to due to the pandemic.
So the mother-son duo are thrilled to run the race this year. Aaron, who has run the race four times before, said the smaller crowd didn’t impact the morale.
“It’s the same energy as before, just less people” he said. The two are planning on running the race together again next year.
- Sarah Kallis
This tradition is music to our ears. Oscar Jones, 70, has been playing the trumpet for racers every year since 2013 at the Covenant Presbyterian Church along the race route.
He normally plays “Yankee Doodle” and other patriotic songs but he also knows the fight songs of many Southern schools like the University of Georgia and Clemson University. If he can identify alumni from those schools in the race, he’ll try to play their fight song.
“I’ll usually just play a few notes, just to show that I recognize them,” said Jones, a graduate of Clemson.
- Isaiah Poritz
8:55 a.m. - “The one day I absolutely love Atlanta.” Arian Lewis, 34, has run the race every Fourth of July for seven years.
“This is the one day I absolutely love Atlanta. We all come together and it’s just absolutely fantastic with the energy,” she said.
In the wake of the pandemic, this year is especially important to her, Lewis said. “After the past year-and-a-half, coming together feels incredible,” she said.
Although she finished the race, Lewis is not done training. She plans to run in the New York City Half Marathon.
- Sarah Kallis
8:50 a.m. - “The best birthday party in America.” Mel Wages, 62, finished his 46th Atlanta Journal-Constitution Peachtree Road Race on Sunday morning.
After being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1976, Wages turned to running to stay healthy and strong.
He looks forward to the race every year. “It’s the best birthday party in America, and it brings all of Atlanta together,” he said.
- Sarah Kallis
8:45 a.m. - A cheerful tradition: Bruce and Dell MacGregor, 78 and 76 respectively, have been cheering on road racers for enough years that it takes the couple a minute to count.
”Let’s see, it must be 15 years now,” Bruce said.
Bruce’s younger brother ran track and field at the University of Georgia and inspired Bruce and Dell’s son, who is in the race, to start running.
The couple was particularly cautious during the pandemic and are glad to see the race back in person.
”We may have lost a year, but it feels like just yesterday we were out here cheering people on,” Dell said.
- Isaiah Poritz
8:30 a.m. - ‘Back here together again.’ John Andrews, 55, of Atlanta couldn’t sleep last night he was so excited to run in this year’s race.
“This brings all types of people together and represents Atlanta very well,” he said. “And so glad we back here together again.”
- Helena Oliviero
Paul Simpson, 79, of Atlanta struck up a conversation with fellow runner Beniquez Jones, 46, of Stone Mountain while they waited to start the race.
They bonded over both being Georgia Tech graduates and running the race again in person. Jones has run the race every year since 2008; Simpson every year since 1980.
They both said they have been mostly sheltering from home the past year.
”It means a lot to be here this year,” said Simpson.
- Helena Oliviero
8:10 a.m. - A familiar face: While the elite runners and wheelers were in the spotlight this morning, there was at least one more participant who garnered a bit more attention than others.
Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms finished the 10K this morning, and was met with requests for selfies.
The mayor also shared a photo in a tweet from 6 this morning to show she was at the race and ready.
- Sarah Kallis
8 a.m. - Keeping up the traditions. Jared Carbone, a 21-year-old Georgia Tech student, finished his latest AJC Peachtree Road Race on Sunday.
After years away due to COVID-19 and his studying abroad, Carbone is excited to be back at the race. “It feels like I never left,” he said.
While Carbone appreciates the smaller crowd as a runner, he misses the morale boost from the larger crowd at the race. Usually a solo runner, Carbone found encouragement from the runners around him. “Around mile four, I wanted to give up and start walking, but the other runners pushed me,” he said.
- Sarah Kallis
Elizabeth and Dustin White have been cheering on racers at the same location for the past six years.
Posted at the base of Cardiac Hill, the Whites’ friends and family running the race always know where to find them.
”It’s just so exciting being out here after so long. We came out yesterday too,” Elizabeth said. “We ran it maybe 10 years ago and my mom ran it all the time.”
- Isaiah Poritz
Andrea Ramire and her sister Gabriella have run the AJC Peachtree Road Race together every year for eight years after they “fell in love with the race” in 2013.
This is the first race they’ve run in person since the pandemic.
“It brought tears to my eyes. I was so grateful,” Andrea continued, “I was amazed by humans’ resilience.”
- Sarah Kallis
7:05 a.m. - And the winners are ... Today’s race featured the elite runners and the wheelers to get things started.
Sam Chelanga won the 2021 men’s elite division of the AJC Peachtree Road Race.
Sara Hall won the elite female division at the AJC Peachtree Road Race.
Daniel Romanchuck defended his title and won his fourth Atlanta Journal-Constitution Shepherd Center men’s wheelchair division title.
Tatyana McFadden won her eighth Atlanta Journal-Constitution Shepherd Center women’s wheelchair title
Revisit our Saturday coverage from the first installment of the two-day event:
- Live updates from Saturday morning’s race
- Return of AJC Peachtree Road Race a turning point in wake of pandemic
- Costumes, father-son duos show meaning of AJC Peachtree Road Race
- AJC Peachtree Road Race participants blessed in annual tradition
