In Atlanta, the 4th of July has meant one thing… one of the world’s best 10K road races, the Peachtree Road Race, is run through the streets of downtown Atlanta in the early morning hours. Begun in 1970 with just 150 runners, it has grown to well over 60,000 elite and weekend runners racing from the city, nation, and world. Most of the runners are interested in getting one prize: the T-shirt that every runner who completes the race gets. That’s not to say there is prize money involved, and it has drawn the best in the world in the hopes of conquering the 10K hilly course.
For the Walker family, the Race for many years was an annual tradition. Although my immediate family never raced in the Peachtree, we got many T-shirts through our volunteer work with the Atlanta Track Club, mostly under the leadership of Julia Emmons. My father volunteered in the 1980s and 1990s, usually working the area around the Colony Square Hotel. For 7 of those years, I worked with my dad, and both of my sisters also assisted in the race, either pre-race or during the race. One of cousins ran the course three times, placing in the top 500 in his first trip back in 1981 and being invited to the 1982 Peachtree Road Race.
In the early years, the Peachtree was dominated by American runners, winning 12 of the first 13. In 1976, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution became the title sponsor of the race. With the Peachtree T-Shirt firmly entrenched to anyone who finished the race, the Peachtree expanded to 25,000 runners as many people wanted to finish and achieve the coveted wear. The best American runners started competing in the event. Between 1979 and 1981, Craig Virgin of Illinois won the race each year, setting the then-course record of 28:03 in 1981. No other male runner has won 3 Peachtree Road Races.
It was against this backdrop that an international field started to show interest in the competitive race. Little was known about the international contingent. It was rumored that runners from Kenya were invading the Peachtree field, but very little was known about how good these runners really were. In 1982, the city of Atlanta would get a glimpse of the potential.
That Sunday Morning was a confluence of events. With my cousin running in the competitive division, my dad volunteering in his first Peachtree, and the biggest threat to Virgin’s dominance, my family gathered near the finish line in Piedmont Park. It was a long wait, and we first had to cheer on the first ever wheelchair race into Piedmont Park. As we closed in on 8 am, the first runners began to approach the finish line. It was clear that Craig Virgin was not in the lead group (he wore 1 in the race), but it was 2 Kenyans and an American battling for the title. In the end, the American John Sinclair won the race, but the Kenyans had served noticed. From that moment, Kenya dominated not just in Atlanta, but everywhere. They were here to stay and one year later, Michael Musyoki won the Peachtree, beginning the Kenyan winning machine that continues to this day. Musyoki would also become the first runner to break 28 minutes in the Peachtree, winning the ‘85 race in 27:58. As for my cousin, he struggled in the race and failed to finish in the top 500.
It’s amazing to look back and see that we were seeing the future of long-distance racing on that Sunday morning. But now looking back, I am proud to say I was there when the Kenyans first invaded the Peachtree and showed the world a glimpse of the future.
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