More than 50,000 participants are expected to join The Atlanta-Journal Constitution Peachtree Road Race this year, and like very year, each will receive the coveted T-shirt after crossing the finish line.
For many, it has become a badge of honor and a collectors’ item, but the iconic shirt wasn’t always available.
“Historically, there wasn’t even a T-shirt during the very first finishes of the race,” said Atlanta Track Club spokesperson Natalie Cabaña
The tees became a part of the race after Tim Singleton, one of the race’s original finishers, went to the Boston Marathon and saw there were T-shirts for sale there, Cabaña said. The first T-shirt became part of the race in 1971 and has been ever since.
It wasn’t until outrage from participants over the 25th Anniversary T-shirt design in 1994, that former Executive Director of the Atlanta Track Club Julia Emmons decided to leave the design of the shirt up to the public to decide.
Since then, people have been able to vote for a number of designs with the winning design being revealed on race day, as soon as the first runner crosses the finish line on the Fourth of July. A panel of judges from the AJC, Atlanta Track Club, and the Atlanta running and walking community narrow down hundreds of submissions to five.
Along with having their artwork on the most prized piece of apparel of the summer, the winning designer will receive a cash prize. In past years, winners received $1,000, but this year’s winner will receive $5,500, while second and third place will receive $3,500 and $2,500 respectively.
This was originally published on our Live Updates page.
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