ATLANTA – January 11, 2017 – The USA 10K champion will be named on Independence Day as the men’s and women’s USATF 10 km Championships return to Atlanta at the 2017 AJC Peachtree Road Race. One of the most decorated middle distance runners in history, Bernard Lagat, will join other top U.S. athletes to kick off Atlanta’s July 4th celebrations alongside the 60,000 participants of the world’s largest 10K.The 2017 AJC Peachtree Road Race prize purse of $70,000 will be awarded exclusively to American athletes with the top male and female each earning $10,000.
This will be the sixth time the AJC Peachtree Road Race has hosted the men’s USATF 10 km Championships and the third time to host the women’s race. The event most recently held the men’s and women’s championships in 2013 and 2014. “It is an honor to bring the USATF 10 km Championships back to the AJC Peachtree Road Race this year,” said Rich Kenah, Atlanta Track Club’s executive director. “Atlanta Track Club has a long history of hosting the best endurance athletes in the U.S. at our flagship Fourth of July event, the AJC Peachtree Road Race. In partnership with USATF, we look forward to crowning the 2017 U.S. men’s and women’s champions.”
Making his AJC Peachtree Road Race debut, Bernard Lagat is a two-time world champion and two-time Olympic medalist. He is a five-time Olympian with 11 World Championship medals dating back to 2001 on the track, and has found success on the roads later in his career. His 27:48 finish at the 2015 Great Manchester Road Race
10K tied him with Mark Nenow for the American record at the distance, just one of several records he currently holds."I'm very excited to be running this year's AJC Peachtree Road Race,” said Lagat. “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."
The 48th running of the AJC Peachtree Road Race will take place on Tuesday, July 4, 2017. Lottery registration for the 2017 event will open on Wednesday, March 15 and close at 11:59 p.m. on Wednesday, March 22 at AJC.com/peachtree. The AJC Peachtree Road Race is capped at 60,000 participants, making it the world’s largest 10K. Additional details about the 2017 AJC Peachtree Road Race can be found at peachtreeroadrace.org.
About Atlanta Track Club
Atlanta Track Club is a nonprofit committed to creating an active and healthy Atlanta. Through running and walking, Atlanta Track Club motivates, inspires and engages the community to enjoy a healthier lifestyle. With more than 26,000 members, Atlanta Track Club is the second largest running organization in the United States. In addition to the AJC Peachtree Road Race (peachtreeroadrace.org) – the largest 10K running event in the world, the Publix Georgia Marathon, PNC Atlanta 10 Miler and Thanksgiving Day Half Marathon, Atlanta Track Club directs more than 30 events per year. Through the support of its members and volunteers, Atlanta Track Club also maintains a number of community initiatives including organizing and promoting the Kilometer Kids youth running program to metro Atlanta youth, honoring high school cross country and track and field athletes through Atlanta Track Club’s All-Metro Banquets and supporting the Grady Bicycle EMT program. For more information on Atlanta Track Club, visit atlantatrackclub.org.
About the AJC Peachtree Road Race
The AJC Peachtree Road Race is a 10K event that takes place every Fourth of July in Atlanta, Georgia. The first Peachtree was held in 1970 and featured 110 finishers. The AJC Peachtree Road Race is now the largest 10K running event in the world with 60,000 participants. The AJC Peachtree Road Race is perhaps most famous for the coveted AJC Peachtree Road Race T-shirt, which is handed out to all the event finishers. For more information on the AJC Peachtree Road Race visit peachtreeroadrace.org or AJC.com/peachtree.
About The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution is the leading source – both in print and online – of news, information and advertising for metropolitan Atlanta, reaching a total print and online audience of 1.6 million people each week. Every month, nearly 6.9 million unique visitors access the newspaper's websites, including AJC.com, myAJC.com and accessAtlanta.com. Our newsroom is the largest in Georgia with more than 150 journalists. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution is part of Cox Media Group, a publishing, digital media and broadcasting subsidiary of Atlanta-based Cox Enterprises.
About USATF
USA Track & Field (USATF) is the National Governing Body for track and field, long-distance running and race walking in the United States. USATF encompasses the world's oldest organized sports, some of the most-watched events of Olympic broadcasts, the country’s No. 1 high school and junior high school participatory sport and more than 30 million adult runners in the United States. For more information on USATF, visit usatf.org.