Registration for AJC Peachtree Road Race Wheelchair Division Opens March 15

Online registration for the annual AJC Peachtree Road Race Wheelchair Division, set for July 4, 2019, will open Friday, March 15. Participants can register online at shepherd.org/PeachtreeRoadRace.

Participants must complete an online application and pay a registration fee of $35 per person by June 10, 2019. 

Every July 4, Shepherd Center sponsors the Wheelchair Division of the AJC Peachtree Road Race in Atlanta. More than 60 world-class athletes from around the globe compete in this annual 10K event. The Wheelchair Division follows the course set for the AJC Peachtree Road Race foot racers – 6.2 miles down Peachtree Road, starting at Lenox Road and ending on 10th Street at Piedmont Park in Midtown Atlanta.

Shepherd Center staff members, patients and their families always line the race route along Peachtree Road in front of the hospital to cheer on the wheelchair and foot racers. The event is covered live by WXIA-TV 11 Alive News in Atlanta.

“This is an amazing tradition and event for both the athletes and patients,” said Rebecca Washburn, MS, manager of Shepherd Center’s Beyond Therapy^® and wellness programs. “Not only is Shepherd Center a great place for racers to get a boost from the crowds cheering them on, but it’s also a prime viewing spot for spectators to get a close-up view of the racers.”

New this year, the AJC Peachtree Road Race will award up to $200,000 in bonus prize money to foot racers and wheelchair athletes who break an event record at the race’s 50th Running on July 4, 2019, Atlanta Track Club has announced. Any male or female winner of the foot race or Shepherd Center's Wheelchair Division who tops the best times in the Elite Open Men and Elite Open Women divisions will be awarded – on top of prize money – a $50,000 bonus in honor of the 50th running.

“This is a historic year for the AJC Peachtree Road Race,” Washburn said. “The $50,000 in bonus prizes is the highest amount for a single event in wheelchair racing, and it sets a precedent for equality among the elite runners and wheelchair athletes.”

"Each year, the Shepherd Center Wheelchair Division at the AJC Peachtree Road Race produces one of the most exciting wheelchair races anywhere in the world," said Rich Kenah, executive director of Atlanta Track Club and race director of the AJC Peachtree Road Race. "For the 50th Running we are excited to witness some of the legends of the sport attempt to make Peachtree history on the streets of Atlanta."

Shepherd Center is also participating in the America Series race events, which in addition to the AJC Peachtree Road Race, includes the Meet in the Heat track meet in Rome, Georgia, on July 1 and the Cedartown 5K on July 2 in Cedartown, Georgia. This new series gives competitors three opportunities to race while they’re in town. To register for Meet in the Heat, click here and register by June 15, 2019. To register for the Cedartown 5K, click here.

This new series gives competitors three opportunities to race while they’re in town.

Also new this year is the AJC Peachtree Road Race Wheelchair Division’s designation as an official Adaptive Track and Field USA (ATFUSA) national 10K event. This means that the winners of the AJC Peachtree Road Race Wheelchair Division will be considered national champions.

“The AJC Peachtree Road Race is always a spectacular showing of athleticism and inspiration,” Washburn said. “We expect this year to be one of the best yet.”

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.