The Atlanta Track Club today announced that the AJC Peachtree Road Race has been chosen as the host for the 2013 and 2014 USA Men’s and Women’s 10 km Championships. The 2013 AJC Peachtree Road Race will mark the first time the event will host the USA Women’s 10 km Championship. The event has hosted the USA Men’s 10 km Championship four of the past six years. Olympic years (2008 and 2012) are excluded as the USA Track & Field Olympic Trials take place just prior to the event.
To showcase the women’s race, the Atlanta Track Club has given the professional women an earlier start time than the rest of the field in the 2012 AJC Peachtree Road Race. The women's professional field will start at 7:17 a.m. followed by the men's professional field at 7:30 a.m.
“Hosting the USA Men’s and Women’s 10 km Championships is extremely important to the Atlanta Track Club and the AJC Peachtree Road Race because they provide a way to cultivate and showcase top U.S. distance talent,” said Tracey Russell, executive director of the Atlanta Track Club. “The championships also give the City of Atlanta the chance to show its strong support of the professional running community. “
The USA Men’s and Women’s 10 km Championships are part of the USA Running Circuit (USARC), a USA Track & Field road series that strives to showcase, support, and promote U.S. runners. Since its inception in 1995, the USARC and its races have provided more than $6 million to U.S. distance runners, including Olympians Deena Kastor, Ryan Hall, Shalane Flanagan and Meb Keflezighi. As host of the USA Men’s and Women’s 10 km Championships, the 2013 and 2014 AJC Peachtree Road Race total prize purses will include an additional $60,000 to be divided between the men's and women's races.
The 43rd running of the AJC Peachtree Road Race will take place on Wednesday, July 4, 2012. Additional details regarding the 2012 AJC Peachtree Road Race including registration information, start wave placement details and specifics on the Peachtree Health and Fitness Expo are available at peachtreeroadrace.org.