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AJC Peachtree Road Race to Host 2017 USA 10 km Championships
Two-Time World Champion Bernard Lagat first to commit to worldÛªs largest 10K in 2017
ATLANTA ÛÒ January 11, 2017 ÛÒ The
USA 10K champion will be named on Independence Day as the menÛªs and
womenÛªs USATF 10 km Championships return to Atlanta at the 2017 AJC
Peachtree Road Race. One of the most decorated middle distance runners
in history, Bernard Lagat, will join other top U.S. athletes to kick
off AtlantaÛªs July 4th celebrations alongside the 60,000 participants of the worldÛªs largest 10K.
The
2017 AJC Peachtree Road Race prize purse of $70,000 will be awarded
exclusively to American athletes with the top male and female each
earning $10,000.
This
will be the sixth time the AJC Peachtree Road Race has hosted the menÛªs
USATF 10 km Championships and the third time to host the womenÛªs race.
The event most recently held the menÛªs and womenÛªs championships in 2013
and 2014.
ÛÏIt
is an honor to bring the USATF 10 km Championships back to the AJC
Peachtree Road Race this year,Û said Rich Kenah, Atlanta Track ClubÛªs
executive director. ÛÏAtlanta Track Club has a long history of hosting
the best endurance athletes in the U.S. at our flagship Fourth of July
event, the AJC Peachtree Road Race. In partnership with USATF, we look
forward to crowning the 2017 U.S. menÛªs and womenÛªs champions.Û
Making
his AJC Peachtree Road Race debut, Bernard Lagat is a two-time world
champion and two-time Olympic medalist. He is a five-time Olympian with
11 World Championship medals dating back to 2001 on the track, and has
found success on the roads later in his career. His 27:48 finish at the
2015 Great Manchester Road Race 10K tied him with Mark Nenow for the
American record at the distance, just one of several records he
currently holds.
“I’m
very excited to be running this year’s AJC Peachtree Road Race,Û said
Lagat. ÛÏSince I first started in college all those years ago I’ve known
it as one of the great American roads races. I’m feeling good in my
training; now that I’m focusing on the roads it’s exciting to be running
in the race this year.”
The 48th
running of the AJC Peachtree Road Race will take place on Tuesday, July
4, 2017. Lottery registration for the 2017 event will open on
Wednesday, March 15 and close at 11:59 p.m. on Wednesday, March 22 at AJC.com/peachtree. The AJC Peachtree Road Race is capped at 60,000 participants, making it the worldÛªs largest 10K.
Additional details about the 2017 AJC Peachtree Road Race can be found at peachtreeroadrace.org.
ATTACHMENT
Bernard Lagat.jpg ÛÒ Bernard Lagat at the 2014 Carlsbad 5000. Credit PhotoRun.
About Atlanta Track Club
Atlanta
Track Club is a nonprofit committed to creating an active and healthy
Atlanta. Through running and walking, Atlanta Track Club motivates,
inspires and engages the community to enjoy a healthier lifestyle. With
more than 26,000 members, Atlanta Track Club is the second largest
running organization in the United States. In addition to the AJC
Peachtree Road Race (peachtreeroadrace.org)
ÛÒ the largest 10K running event in the world, the Publix Georgia
Marathon, PNC Atlanta 10 Miler and Thanksgiving Day Half Marathon,
Atlanta Track Club directs more than 30 events per year. Through the
support of its members and volunteers, Atlanta Track Club also maintains
a number of community initiatives including organizing and promoting
the Kilometer Kids youth running program to metro Atlanta youth,
honoring high school cross country and track and field athletes through
Atlanta Track ClubÛªs All-Metro Banquets and supporting the Grady Bicycle
EMT program. For more information on Atlanta Track Club, visit atlantatrackclub.org.
About the AJC Peachtree Road Race
The
AJC Peachtree Road Race is a 10K event that takes place every Fourth of
July in Atlanta, Georgia. The first Peachtree was held in 1970 and
featured 110 finishers. The AJC Peachtree Road Race is now the largest
10K running event in the world with 60,000 participants. The AJC
Peachtree Road Race is perhaps most famous for the coveted AJC Peachtree
Road Race T-shirt, which is handed out to all the event finishers. For
more information on the AJC Peachtree Road Race visit peachtreeroadrace.org or AJC.com/peachtree.
About The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
The
Atlanta Journal-Constitution is the leading source ÛÒ both in print and
online ÛÒ of news, information and advertising for metropolitan Atlanta,
reaching a total print and online audience of 1.6 million people each
week. Every month, nearly 6.9 million unique visitors access the
newspaper’s websites, including AJC.com, myAJC.com and accessAtlanta.com.
Our newsroom is the largest in Georgia with more than 150 journalists.
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution is part of Cox Media Group, a
publishing, digital media and broadcasting subsidiary of Atlanta-based
Cox Enterprises.
About USATF
USA
Track & Field (USATF) is the National Governing Body for track and
field, long-distance running and race walking in the United States.
USATF encompasses the world’s oldest organized sports, some of the
most-watched events of Olympic broadcasts, the countryÛªs No. 1 high
school and junior high school participatory sport and more than 30
million adult runners in the United States. For more information on
USATF, visit usatf.org.
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