Beware. Record heat looms at the 48th annual Atlanta Journal-Constitution Peachtree Road Race on Tuesday.
The Atlanta Track Club has already issued a red flag warning for extreme heat and humidity. The club suggests runners go slowly for the first few miles and stay hydrated leading up to and through the race. There will be five water stops across the course.
The hottest recorded AJC Peachtree Road Race temperature is 80 degrees, which occurred in 1970, 1973, 1977, 1980, 1983 and 1991. Tuesday’s edition could top that. Temperatures might reach as high as 84 by noon.
This year’s event will see 47 states and 21 countries represented among 60,000 participants. It is the world’s largest 10k and the country’s largest road race. The host state is well-represented: 92 percent of the 2017 runners hail from Georgia.
Winners will additionally be crowned the USA 10k champions. The Atlanta Track Club added the national labels to recognize American runners. The prize purse of $70,000 will be rewarded exclusively to American athletes, with $10,000 going to the winning male and female.
“With any 48-year-old tradition, it’s very important for all of us here at the Atlanta Track Club to keep the traditions that people love, keep people coming back to the AJC Peachtree Road Race,” said Jay Holder, the track club’s director of marketing. “But also, to add new and exciting elements each year to help tell our story …”
As usual, the race begins on Peachtree Road at Lenox Square in Buckhead, and runs to 10th Street at Charles Allen Drive in Midtown. The race features the Shepherd Center wheelchair division, the men’s and women’s elite fields, the military team competition and the media race.
Six-time women’s wheelchair division winner Tatyana McFadden and defending wheelchair men’s champion Josh George return as top seeds. Former NCAA national champions Jordan Hasay and Neely Gracey headline the invited women, while Bernard Lagat and Leonard Korir are among the top invited men.
Lagat, a five-time Olympian and 13-time World Championships medalist, will participate in the Peachtree for the first time.
“I’m very excited to be running this year’s AJC Peachtree Road Race,” he said. “Since I first started in college all those years ago, I’ve known it as one of the great American roads races. I’m feeling good in my training. Now that I’m focusing on the roads, it’s exciting to be running in the race this year.”
Lagat and others will chase the records set by two Kenyans. Joseph Kimani currently holds the men’s record at 27:04 set in 1996. The women’s record is held by Lornah Kiplagat at 30:32 (2002).
The wheelchair division starts off at 6:43 a.m. Award ceremonies takes place at 9 a.m. and the course closes at 12 p.m. Roughly 200,000 spectators are expected.
The AJC Peachtree Road Race can be followed on social media with the hashtag #AJCPRR. Its official Twitter handle is @ajcprr.
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