Celebrating “Atlanta’s Greatest Day” – AJC Peachtree Road Race on July 4th

What a year of milestones for the Atlanta Track Club and the Atlanta Journal-Constitution Peachtree Road Race!

The Atlanta Track Club turned 60 this year and the Peachtree Road Race celebrated its 55th year in existence.

These dates are undoubtedly significant. But what is equally significant is the evolution of the Atlanta Track Club and the AJC-Peachtree Road Race, whose mission has expanded to include walking in addition to running in order to create a healthier Atlanta.

Rich Kenah, CEO of the Atlanta Track Club since February 2014, sat down with me for an interview on July 6, two days after the 2024 Peachtree Road Race, to reflect personally and professionally on what the event means to Atlanta and its participants.

“I’ve found a new love and appreciation for the sport because I now recognize that the beauty of it isn’t necessarily who crosses the finish line first. It’s about the people who cross the finish line together,” Kenah said. “It’s a shared experience.”

Kenah grew up in New Jersey, the state “born to run.” He ran the 800 meters in the 2000 Olympics and has competed professionally around the world. Kenah said he was transformed by moving to Atlanta more than 10 years ago.

“I came to Atlanta as a retired Olympic runner, very nervous and competitive,” Kenah said. “Ten years into being a race director, I recognize that fast runners are just a fraction of what the Peachtree is. The Peachtree is a unique phenomenon that allows the entire city of Atlanta to move together in one direction on the same day, and that day is the Fourth of July.”

Today, Kenah oversees the world’s largest 10K race. At its peak in 2019 (its 50th year), the Peachtree Road Race had 60,000 participants. Covid forced the race to go virtual in 2020. In 2021, it welcomed more than 36,000 participants over two days. It has since been rebuilding. More than 50,000 people have signed up to run, including 2,000 who participated virtually.

“We had 43,378 participants,” Kenah said. “The event is measured by the number of participants. We’re still considered the largest 10K in the world. The Bolder Boulder Memorial Day race had 42,000 participants. It’s been the second largest 10K event for a long time.”

Kenah said the Atlanta Track Club has always had a modest budget surplus. But because of COVID and the need to rebuild enrollment to historic levels, the club has seen significant budget deficits over the past two years.

“We hope to return to a modest but healthy surplus in 2024,” Kenah said. “The Peachtree allows us to offer free programming to the community year-round.”

To most people, the Peachtree Road Race is the Atlanta Track Club and vice versa. But when you dig a little deeper, you’ll discover that the organization has much more to offer, both historically and currently.

“We were founded in 1964 around high-level high school track and cross country,” Kenah said. “Over time, we evolved into a running-centric organization.”

The Peachtree Road Race has become the club’s flagship event and has contributed to the Atlanta Track Club’s “exponential” growth over the years. More than two million people have participated in the Peachtree Race since its inception in 1970.

“When I came in 2014, the Peachtree was about 70 percent of our revenue,” Kenah said. “Now it’s about 40 percent. We’ve made a conscious effort to diversify our revenue and have events and programs throughout the year.”

The Atlanta Track Club now hosts 35 to 40 events a year, including various races, the half marathon and the marathon.

“My first 10 years were about building an organization for the next 50 years,” Kenah said. “The next 10 years are about reaching new people who want to find ways to become healthier.”

Kenah is also working to build a $100 million indoor running track to help promote running to more Atlantans. “With an indoor running track, we can go from impacting 125,000 participants at our events to being able to reach 400,000 Atlantans,” Kenah said.

And it’s not just about running. Take the Peachtree. Runners used to look down on people who walked more than they ran. But that’s not the case anymore.

“We added walking to our mission. We want to improve the health of Atlanta through running and walking. Our vision is that within 20 years, we will be one of the healthiest cities,” Kenah said. “Historically, we haven’t been very vocal about advocating for better sidewalks. But we have been quietly advocating for safe places to exercise.”

Interestingly, Kenah never competed in the actual Peachtree Road Race.

But he definitely did his job. For the 2024 race, Kenah’s “day” began at 11:45 a.m. on July 3 at the starting line near Lenox Square in Buckhead. About an hour later, he drove a medical team car to the finish at Piedmont Park.

“I ran the race backwards, from the finish line to the start,” Kenah said. “Then I went home, showered and ran back to the start line at 2:30 a.m. until 8:20 a.m. to watch the last two waves take off. Then I had an escort take me to Piedmont Park at 8:40 a.m.”

The Atlanta Track Club, which has 32 full-time employees, is stepping up for the Peachtree—with six additional contracts, six interns, 200 volunteer crew chiefs who lead a total of 3,000 volunteers. Two of those volunteers were Kenah’s twins (a boy and a girl), who came home to help with the event.

The 2024 race saw another major change: its broadcast partner. For 15 years, the race has aired on WXIA. But this year, the Atlanta Track Club solidified its relationship with the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, a partnership that dates back to 1975.

“The AJC is very involved with this event,” Kenah said. “After last year’s Peachtree, I spoke with Andrew Morse (AJC publisher) and learned about his interest and mandate to advance the AJC. During the conversation, I asked him if the AJC would be willing to become more involved with the event, including broadcasting it.”

Kenah believes the partnership with the AJC will allow the race to “stay relevant for the next generation,” calling it a “strategic decision.” The broadcast on ajc.com had “more resources, producers, directors and cameras” than the last 10 years combined, and it offered real-time updates.

“We want this to be more than just a party. We want this party to impact Atlanta,” said Kenah, who believes the Peachtree is the most racially diverse road race in the world. “Our goal is to make Atlanta healthier and safer. One of our employees called it ‘the greatest day in Atlanta.’”

Note to readers:

As someone who has lived just blocks from the finish line for decades, my annual Peachtree Road Race tradition is to wake up in time to see the wheelchair winners and spend the morning watching the river of humanity flow down 10^th Street towards Piedmont Park. Every now and then I see a familiar face pass by. It’s a chance to reminisce for a momentfight I’ve enjoyed the event over the years, a barometer of my life, enjoying the finish line with my parents, my children and my friends. My favorite memory is being with the late Congressman John Lewis in the AJC VIP area at the finish line, where he and my son bonded as they cheered on the runners. This year, I had the opportunity to chat with Atlanta Police Chief Darin Schierbaum, who was checking out the Rainbow Crosswalk with his fiancé Richard Castellanos. “This is Atlanta at its best,” Schierbaum observed.

Click here to see Delaney Tarr’s photo from the 2024 Peachtree Road race.

For Kelly Jordan’s 2023 Peachtree Road Race retrospective, click here.

SIMILAR ARTICLES