Jere Allen got a nice surprise as he ran his 35th consecutive Atlanta Journal-Constitution Peachtree Road Race on Friday.
With one mile to go, three of Allen’s grandchildren, Tripp Allen, Luke Moradi and Claire Brickson, jumped onto the course and ran alongside him. Luke carried a sign with “80 years old” and an arrow written on it, eliciting cheers from the crowd as he ran beside his grandfather.
Jere Allen heard the cheers but didn’t realize his grandchildren were beside him until they had been running for a few yards.
Allen, who lived in Atlanta until 1992 and now lives in Hoover, Ala., said he always comes back to Atlanta for the race.
“It’s a family event,” Jere Allen said.
Allen began running in 1976 after his 45-year-old brother died of a heart attack. He ran his first Peachtree in 1979 and hasn’t missed once since.
His sons, sons-in-law, brothers-in-law and now grandchildren have run with him.
He said he trains every day and ran Friday with a pace of 10 minutes, 8 seconds per mile, beating his goal of 10:30.
He plans to come back next year and joked that he would love to one day run in his 50th consecutive Peachtree.
About the Author
