There evidently is nary a part of The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Peachtree Road Race that Rich Kenah, the executive director of the Atlanta Track Club, is unwilling to tweak. The 60,000 participants in the world’s largest 10K race will learn that for themselves Saturday when they pull on their prized finisher’s T-shirts.
Long a 100 percent cotton tee, this year’s shirt is a cotton-polyester blend, part everyday T-shirt and part sweat-wicking technical shirt.
The decision to adjust the race’s most honored tradition was not arrived at lightly — the track club conducted a focus group, did wear tests and consulted with volunteers, staff and others. Kenah, who will oversee the Peachtree for the second time since his hire at the track club in February 2014, believes it will be well received.
That said, the race is an Independence Day ritual for thousands in metro Atlanta, dyed in memories and tied to family, friends and country. Speaking Tuesday in his office at the back of the track club’s Buckhead headquarters, Kenah recognized that changes to the Peachtree aren’t always embraced.
“I think, in my short time here, I recognize that there are always going to be what I would call a very vocal minority who want to be heard,” Kenah said. “And it’s important for us to listen to them, because more often than not, there is value in the feedback that you’re getting, the negative as well as the positive.”
Kenah has been unafraid to put his own touches on the race, which will be run down Peachtree Road on Saturday morning for the 46th Fourth of July in a row. He has done likewise with the track club, which has increasingly sought to reach those at the beginning stages of what he calls the runner life cycle.
Said Kenah, “I think I have one of the best jobs in the country.”
His first Peachtree, which also served as the U.S. 10K championship, was not without incident. An oversight on Kenah’s part led to a handful of male runners — who were not in realistic contention for the race, but had still earned spots in the race — getting left out of the championship wave.
“They should have been put on the list, so it was my mistake,” said Kenah, who reached out to impacted runners to apologize after the race.
Another error led to a shortage of finisher T-shirts, a significant lapse considering that, for many, the shirts are a proud badge and status symbol. The ideal running conditions for last year’s race led to what Kenah said was the highest percentage of participants (out of total registered) in the event’s history. (A secret: The track club doesn’t order T-shirts for every registrant, as invariably a small percentage do not show up.) Also, boxes of T-shirts were accidentally left on a truck.
The club responded by contacting participants who had crossed the finish line after the time when the shirts ran out and provided T-shirts to all who did not receive one. Kenah said fewer than 1,000 finishers were impacted.
“But again, if our theme is making sure that the last person across the finish line gets the same treatment as the first person, then we need to make sure we take care of that last person,” Kenah said.
To that end, with the help of race sponsor Publix, the club is instituting a change particularly directed at later finishers — snack boxes, one per finisher, to be handed out in the park. Later finishers have often arrived at Piedmont Park only to find refreshments gobbled up.
A new format for the Peachtree’s elite race, with four all-star teams representing the United States, Asia, Africa and Europe competing for the Peachtree Cup, is designed to keep the race fresh and fan friendly.
Club membership has surpassed 22,000 this year, a record high, continuing gains made during the tenure of Tracey Russell, Kenah’s predecessor. Kenah said he couldn’t speak to the running backgrounds of newer members, “but just based on the number of runners who are joining our (free-for-members) Grand Prix and joining it because they’re looking for that low-key, casual running experience, it seems to me we’re pulling new people into the sport.”
