My Experience Running the Peachtree Road Race for the 5th Time

For the third year in a row and fifth time overall, I started my July 4th on the streets of Atlanta (definitely Hotlanta, in many ways), running the Peachtree Road Race. The race has become a lowkey tradition for us. While it was a small group of us who ran and walked it in 2024 and 2025, this year, nearly 30 family members took the road for the race. It really was a beautiful thing. 

For me, it’s a battle of wills and a test of my fitness. I’m the type of person that needs a mountain to climb. Without it, it’s not that I would get fat and lazy, just a little lost. I need that purpose, I thrive on it. I like to get the victory. Also, the race is personal and symbolic for me. When Sheriss and I trained for our first one in 2009, we were struggling financially and getting in shape was the most affordable thing we could do to keep ourselves busy and spend time together. In some ways, the race defined our young lives together. 

The Peachtree Road Race is such an interesting animal. A people-watching feast. 70,000 people do it each year so you see a lot. I have thoughts. 

Atlanta’s Biggest Party

Every city kinda has their thing. Tampa’s got Gasparilla. New Orleans has Mardi Gras. Boston, Chicago, and Savannah have St. Patrick’s Day. In Atlanta, aside from college football, this is the biggest party of the year. While people, like myself, take it seriously and run it, there are some (ok, a lot of) people, that treat it like a 6.2-mile pub crawl. While most parade/parties have the people on the side of the road, while the entertainment rides by, the roles are reverse in the A. People walking or running along the race route are treated to free tequila shots, fireball, jello shots, and lots of beer. There’s also live music at a number of stops and some great street signs. It’s a truly entertaining time and, one day, I may slow down and enjoy the party. 

People Really Do Compete

For those who aren’t familiar with the race, it’s a legit competitive event. The race is organized in waves with the first wave being competitive runners (Men's champion: Patrick Kiptoo Kiprop, Women's champion: Tsigie Gebreselama). Subsequent waves are determined based on your time in similar races. The competitors start at around 6:30 am and typically finish before the bulk of runners, walkers, and drinkers even start. I’ll never forget, the year before I started running the race, I happened to catch the start of it outside my window (I had a condo on the race course) and a pack of competitors darted by in a blur. It’s wild to think that while I'm trudging along trying to survive and thrive that there are people out there pretty much sprinting 6.2 miles. 

You See a Little Bit of Everything

70,000 attendees is a lot of people and Atlanta is diverse in every way possible. The visual feast starts from the moment you hit the race course. There are your typical runners of every age, color, and culture. There’s also people pushing strollers, walking with their kids, and strolling with their buddies and loved ones. There are tons of costumes- many of them patriotic in nature. Lots of founding fathers this year. There are people of all sizes wearing clothes of all sizes. There’s every person imaginable roaming the streets and I think that’s why I love this race so much.    

No Cardiac Hill Sign

As you enter the third mile of this race, the elevation goes up steeply, your legs start to feel it and there’s a sign to your right, just as you’re getting to the Shepherd Center that says, “Welcome to Cardiac Hill”. This is a sign of impending doom for most runners, including myself. However, as we made our ascent, I kept looking for this marker, but it was nowhere to be found. For whatever reason, the Cardiac Hill (last year it was Hope Hill) sign, indicating an increase in elevation was not there. This causes a sort of curious reaction that I verified with Sheriss. As you go up the hill, without that marker, you just sort of go. You keep waiting for the gut punch of elevation that never happens. Sure, the hill is there and yes, you still feel it, but you never psych yourself out for it. It just sort of comes and goes, which makes it a lot easier. I kinda hope they never bring the sign back. 

28 People Strong

We had the largest group we’ve ever had for the race. What was once like 8-10 people literally ballooned to a multi-generational group of 28 people. Some of us ran. Most of us walked, but moms, grandmas, dads, and kids all finished the 6.2-mile trek through Buckhead and Midtown. Something to truly be proud of. 

Where You Stay Matters

In this season of running the Peachtree, we’ve stayed in three parts of town on the night before the race. This has afforded us three uniquely different experiences. In 2024, we stayed downtown at the Marriott Marquee. Great and grand old property, but in a pretty sketchy part of downtown Atlanta. You did not want to walk past the liquor store at night. Also, we had to park on the other side of the liquor store at a parking garage about a block from the hotel. Also, the hotel was several train stops from the race course.   

In 2025, we stayed at the Hotel Shane in Midtown near the Arts Center stop. This was a posh, slick hotel. Beautiful, well-appointed and very close to the finish line. It was also about three stops from the start line so it was a much easier journey. Also, there were more places to eat beforehand. A big fail for the Shane: the bar was closed when I came back from the race.

This year, we stayed at the The Whitley Hotel in Buckhead. The Whitley is right next to start line, which aside from being a very nice hotel, affords you a number of benefits:

1) Obviously, convenience. Our race wave was about an 1/8th of a mile away from the hotel. 

2) Because we were on the race start line, the hotel accommodated us. There was fresh fruit in the lobby when we got up. Great for the prevention of falling out over the course of 6.2 miles. 

3) We were in the center of the action in a way that we hadn’t been before. There was a fantastic fireworks show the night before. The health expo was directly across the street and, generally speaking, there was a buzz in the area. 

4) The bar was open when we returned from the race. Nice!

My Results

I’m happy to say that I survived and thrived in the North Georgia sun. For the last two years, I’ve ran the race in around 1 hour and 14 minutes. I’m very proud of that and I look forward to improving on that time next year.