The 54th Running of the Atlanta Journal-Constitution Peachtree Road Race features the deepest women’s field in the storied history of the iconic 10K. It includes five women who have personal bests faster than the course record of 30:22 – one of the fastest ever recorded on U.S. soil.
As previously announced, the race will welcome back defending champion Senbere Teferi who hopes to become the first back-to-back Peachtree champion since 2010, as well as Joyciline Jepkosgei, past winner of both the TCS London Marathon and TCS NYC Marathon and the third-fastest 10K runner in history. Sheila Chepkirui, the fourth-fastest in history, remains one of the pre-race favorites.
They will be challenged by Jesca Chelangat of Kenya, who is 11th all-time after running 30:01 in Valencia this winter. At 25, she is the youngest of the top competitors and will run Peachtree for the first time. Fellow Kenyan Vicoty Chepngeno, winner of the Houston and Philadelphia Half Marathons with a 10K best of 30:14 will likely be a factor in the race as well.
The Peachtree will feature the 10K return of three-time Olympic gold medalist Tirunesh Dibaba. The 38-year-old Ethiopian legend last raced the distance in 2018 prior to stepping away from competition for five years during which she gave birth to the two youngest of her three children.
Sharon Lokedi, who was previously announced, has withdrawn with an injury.
Annie Frisbie returns to defend her title as top American, while 2021 Peachtree runner-up Emily Durgin and Roswell, Georgia, native Emma Grace Hurley will also contend for top U.S. honors.
Course record-holder Susannah Scaroni leads the women’s field of the Shepherd Center Wheelchair Division. Scaroni, winner of the most recent Chicago, New York and Boston marathons, will look to better her 2022 course-record winning time of 21:14. She’ll face Jenna Fesemyer, who won last weekend’s Grandma’s Marathon in Minnesota, and Paralympian Yen Hoang.
The men’s footrace field…
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