UPDATE: Kitwara Wins Peachtree Road Race

Update: Sammy Kitwara won the 2011 Peachtree Road Race on Monday in an unofficial time of 28 minutes, 5 seconds. Werknesh Kidane was the women's winner in 31:22.

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On Monday, July 4, 60,000 people flocked to Buckhead to compete (some more fiercely than others) in the annual Peachtree Road Race.

For some, it is a thrilling way to satisfy a highly extroverted personality; for others it is a tradition of celebrating the Fourth. Still others run to test the results of many hard days of race training. For the , the Peachtree is a time to witness a rich harvest of another year’s dedicated planning.

The Atlanta Track Club, based in Buckhead, is a nonprofit of 14 staff members that puts on the world’s largest 10K race, the Peachtree. The club office, located in a quaint house on East Shadowlawn Avenue, is decorated inside with frames of historic Peachtree Road Race T-shirts.

According to race officials, 951 people from Suwanee will be participating in the Peachtree.

The track club (or running club) has about 13,000 members scattered throughout the metro area, and more join every year soon after the Peachtree. Throughout the rest of the year the club holds various races for all ages (members enjoy 10 free races), as well as training programs and health seminars.

A major benefit for track club members is early and guaranteed admission to the Peachtree (but not priority start waves). Close to 8,000 track club members are joining the race this July 4.

ATC marketing director Tracy Lott said American culture is in the midst of a running boom. The economy took a fall, and running became an accessible, relatively cost-free exercise; also, the public is now greatly concerned with healthy living. One of the goals of the club, Lott said, is for Atlantans to achieve health and wellness through running. The other main goal, she said, is to encourage a united running community.

“It’s fulfilling when I see people from the training program accomplish their goals, volunteers happy to support participants, and runners of all abilities and levels finishing their race and reaching their goals at the finish line,” ATC Director of Community Outreach Tina Klein says on the club’s web site.

Putting on the Peachtree is no small feat for the nonprofit. “It’s like moving an entire city down Peachtree,” Lott said. The team of about 25 ATC staff members and volunteers is at the peak of prep-time (the committee began regular meetings for prep in January).

Setup of the start and finish lines begins on Saturday, Publix food donations arrive to Lenox Square on Sunday, and in the meantime there are 3,400 volunteers to keep organized. Port-a-potties need to be stationed, tents established, signage posted, and water set out (more than 600,000 cups). Lott said course setup will begin on Monday at 5 a.m. or earlier.

Here are a few tips for Road Race runners from the Atlanta Track Club:

1. Get outside the gym and practice running outdoors to acclimate your body to the heat.
2. Hydrate your body as much as possible before the race and during the event. Water stations are located at every mile of the 6.2 course.
3. During the race, be aware of signs of heat-related illness and do not be afraid to WALK.
4. Wear fabrics that repel moisture.
5. Do not try to set a personal record during the race unless you have been training to do so.

• PEACHTREE FACT (from the ATC website): The coolest starting temperature on race day was 62 degrees in 1986 and 1989. The warmest was 80 degrees in 1970, ’73, ’77, ‘80, ’83 and ’91. Temperatures are expected to be unusually warm Monday.

The foot race starts at 7:30 a.m. on Monday (wheelchair race at 6:45) near Lenox Square Mall and ends at 10th street outside Piedmont Park.

(Information from www.11alive.com was used in this report.)