If you want to try a fun 10k with 55,000 of your closest friends, then you should be at the Peachtree Road Race in Atlanta, GA. I managed to get a bib number off the internet, and thanks to some good friends, the family and I had a place to stay. Due to the number of runners, the race officials decided to have staggered starting times for each group of runners and each group did not have to be at the start until an hour before their official start time (well at least that's when we got there). It was definitely more convenient not having everyone milling about the start line waiting for each corral to start.
The course had several rolling hills, but no cross-overs. Unfortunately, the course was so packed, it was hard to make any headway. My splits were 9:44, 7:56, 7:45, 8;19, 8:34, 8:01 and 1:35 with a final time of 51:54. I didn't feel like I was getting slower in the middle, but like I said, the race was so crowded, I probably couldn't tell.
The weather was warm but not stifling. The crowds were great and very supportive. The mile markers were well displayed and easy to spot. The course had plenty of water stations, and the volunteers were very helpful. I was surprised by the number of people walking the race, but everyone wants to join in the fun, I guess. Will I do the Peachtree again? I'm leaning heavily towards a repeat. My wife and I are talking about next year, and I may even join the Atlanta Track Club to get a better shot at race number!
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