PEACHTREE TO HOST 2021 USATF 10 KM CHAMPIONSHIPS
By David Monti, @d9monti
(c) 2021 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved - Used with permission.

(26-May) -- The Peachtree Road Race will host the USATF 10 kmChampionships for men and women on Sunday, July 4, the Atlanta Track Club (ATC) announced today.  Tokyo Olympic marathoners Aliphine Tuliamuk, Jake Riley and Abdi Abdirahman are slated to compete.  Tuliamuk was the USA Olympic Trials Marathon champion in February, 2020, just before the onset of the pandemic.

"The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Peachtree Road Race is one of my favorite days of the year," Tuliamuk said through a statement. "What better way to celebrate running and the USA?  This year will be even more special since my fiancé Tim and our daughter Zoe will be with me in Atlanta. This is our first family trip to Atlanta, and my first race since the Trials. I cannot wait to get Zoe's first photo under the Olympic Rings."

Riley, who finished second at the Trials in the men's division, said the Peachtree would be his final tune-up race before the men's Olympic Marathon in Sapporo on Sunday, August 8.  He feels that Atlanta's high heat and humidity will allow him to simulate the conditions he'll face in Japan.

"Going into the Olympics we knew we wanted a race with a high level of competition, about four to six weeks out from the race, ideally in hotter, more humid conditions," Riley explained through a statement.  "Looking at the schedule, Peachtree fit the bill perfectly.  Plus, Atlanta will always have a special place in my heart after how the Trials went, and the times I've raced there before. I think I'm racing at a higher level now too, so I'm excited to see how I stack up now; hopefully my previous experience will give me an edge."

The Peachtree Road Race could not be held as an in-person event in 2020 due to the pandemic.  Since then, the ATC has been refining their health and safety protocols which they have tested at live events including the Atlanta Marathon and Half-Marathon last February.  This year's Peachtree will be held over two days to reduce athlete density on the course.

"Nothing says 'the Peachtree is back' like having the commitment and support from athletes who are preparing for the biggest event of their lives -- the Olympic and Paralympic Games," said ATC executive director Rich Kenah.  "We have always said that Running City USA is about Olympic legacy and Olympic future, but on the Fourth of July it will be about the Olympic present."

Since 2007, the Peachtree Road Race has hosted the USA 10 km championships eight times: 2007, men; 2009, men; 2010, men; 2011, men; 2013, men and women; 2014, men and women; 2017, men and women; and 2018, men and women.  The most recent USA champions at Peachtree were Bernard Lagat and Steph Bruce in 2018.  Lagat remains the reigning USA men's 10 kmchampion (a men's championship was not contested in either 2019 or 2020), while Sara Hall is the reigning women's champion from the New York Mini 10-K in 2019.


PHOTO: Aliphine Tuliamuk winning the 2020 USA Olympic Trials Marathon (photo by Jane Monti for Race Results Weekly)