A common golfer cannot play in the Masters or British Open with the world’s best-known golfers, nor can the average tennis playe
r play against the world’s best at Wimbledon. No teenager just learning to drive can bank the turns with professional drivers at the Daytona 500. However, in the sport of road racing, common people and novice joggers can lace up and be in the same race as the world-class runners competing to win it all. The Peachtree Road Race in Atlanta, GA is the world’s largest 10K, boasting 55,000 runners who line up for blocks at 7:30am to run down Atlanta’s most famous street. Only a handful, however, really have a legitimate chance to win the prestigious crystal peach and the $15,000 first place prize that comes with it. The Peachtree Road Race is unique as a road race in three distinctive ways: it is run on the 4th of July, it has a rich tradition, and it is the most competitive 10K in the world.
2 One thing that makes the Peachtree Road Race special is that it takes place each year on Independence Day. (1) American flags are waved down Peachtree Street, and nearly everywhere red, white, and blue is seen. Many runners choose to wear stars-and-stripes as a part of their racing outfit, but no one is allowed to wear costumes in this serious race. That means no Statues of Liberty are officially allowed running down the road, as with other large festive races such as the Bay-to-Breakers 12K in San Francisco. (2) Because the Peachtree is run on a holiday, most people have the day off. (3) They either run the race or cheer on the runners from either side of the street. There are tens of thousands of spectators all along the course.
3 Not only is the race special because it takes place on a special day, but it also has a rich, over three-decade tradition. While the Boston Marathon can declare it is the oldest road race in America, few 10K’s can claim they’ve been around longer than the Peachtree Road Race. (4) The race began modestly in 1970. (5) There were only 110 people in the race. By 1980, just ten years later, the race had grown from 110 runners to over 20,000 people and had nearly outgrown the four-lane street. One thing the Peachtree Road Race is known for is the colorful, artful t-shirts. (6) Given only to those who finish the challenging course, the t-shirt is a big reason why so many of the 55,000 run the race. Another long-standing tradition is the Fräbel-designed crystal peach to the top ten men instead of a trophy. Another fixture each year is the competitive wheelchair race that precedes the footrace and lures the fastest wheelchair racers in the world. The winners complete the race in about 18-19 minutes. Of course, the wheelchair competitors are not the only ones who compete at a world-class level.
4 For its entire existence, the Peachtree Road Race has boasted Olympic-level victors. Olympic marathoner Jeff Galloway won the (7) opening race in 1970 when traffic was not even blocked off for the race, and runners had to run in the far right-hand lane. Other American Olympians like Frank Shorter, Don Kardong Craig Virgin, and Ed Eyestone each got his crystal peach. Despite not offering prize money for the first decade, (8) the race somehow got the best American runners the country had to offer. Yet, with the addition of prize money that rivaled any 10K prize purse in the world, elite international runners began toeing the line. Runners from Africa, Europe, and South America all began to make Peachtree a tradition of their own. Since the mid-80’s, Kenyans have dominated the men’s side, while the women’s winners have come from all parts of the globe: New Zealand, Norway, Germany, South Africa, the U.S., and only recently Kenya.
5 It is easy to see why the Peachtree Road Race has become a popular tradition for both the competitive world-class athlete and the weekend jogger alike. (9) A footrace down one of the most well-known streets in the South on the 4th of July is alone enough to make a runner want to become part of the tradition. Add to that mix--the amazing crowd cheering loudly for the entire race, the prestigious t-shirt, and the ability to run in the same race as those on running magazine covers--and you have the recipe for the world’s best 10K road race.
What prior knowledge would assist you in knowing about the subject matter of this essay?
A) if you have been to Wimbledon
B) if you have purchased running shoes
C) if you spent July 4th in downtown Atlanta
D) if you have been to the Masters tournament
