The Peachtree Podcast: The Official Podcast of the AJC Peachtree Road Race

Are you ready for the 2023 Atlanta Journal Constitution Peachtree Road Race? This week’s podcast is all about helping you through the final steps before July 4th. First, we have The Peachtree Health & Fitness Expo presented by Publix. Atlanta Track Club’s Andrew Margve joins us to tell us about this year’s special features, where to park, and how to make your Peachtree prep as easy as possible. Olympian and “C Tolle Run” podcast host Carrie Tollefson also shares her thoughts on this year’s elite field, the uniqueness of this 10K and more as she prepares for this year’s Peachtree broadcast. Find more last-minute tips at  www.atlantatrackclub.org/Peachtree.  

All the pieces are falling into place for the 2023 Atlanta Journal Constitution Peachtree Road Race. On this week’s episode, Jay reveals the elite field joining us for this year’s 10K. It includes Roswell native and Atlanta Track Club Elite’s Emma Grace Hurley. She shares her secrets on how to attack Cardiac Hill. Plus, meet the winner of this year’s “Oh, Say Can You Sing” national anthem contest! Chris Robinson is only 17, but has a big voice to help fire us up at the starting line on July 4th.

The Atlanta Journal Constitution Peachtree Road Race doesn’t happen without an army of volunteers. On this week’s episode, Atlanta Track Club’s Kristin Lide tells us about the volunteer opportunities that are still open – and how you can earn a second T-shirt on July 4th. And prepare to be inspired! Runner Martinus Evans (@300poundsandrunning) has been featured in the New York Times & on ABC’s “Good Morning America.” He joins us on the Peachtree Podcast to discuss his new book, “Slow AF Run Club: The Ultimate Guide for Anyone Who Wants to Run.” He also shares his tips on how to make it through the Peachtree, even if you’re in the back of the pack!

Registration is closed for this year’s Atlanta Journal Constitution Peachtree Road Race, but on this week’s episode, we’ll share a couple of ways you can still join us on July 4th. We’ll also hear from BOLDERBoulder 10K winner Emily Durgin on her return trip to Peachtree, and what’s ahead for her over the next several weeks. Plus, Running for Real podcast host Tina Muir joins us to talk about the little steps you can take on race day to become a more ‘sustainable’ runner.  

While the Atlanta Journal Constitution Peachtree Road Race is still over a month away, preparations are well underway for what we hope will be the World’s Largest 10K again in 2023. This week, we catch up with Atlanta Track Club CEO Rich Kenah to find out what’s different on the course this year, and how Peachtree registration has changed. Plus, defending women’s wheelchair division winner (and course record holder!) Susannah Scaroni shares highlights from her huge year – and why she always loves returning to Peachtree. 

Peachtree is for everyone…and so is The Peachtree Podcast! Join us as we kick off the 2023 season and begin the countdown to The Atlanta Journal Constitution Peachtree Road Race. Atlanta Track Club’s Eric Heintz gives us a sneak preview of some of the fastest runners in the world who will join us on July 4th. And whether you’re running your very first Peachtree or trying to improve your 10K time, In-Training Coach Bob Wells has advice to help you make it a great race. Be sure to hit subscribe to take us along on your training runs over the next 6 weeks!  

For the 7th installment of the Runners Who Read Podcast, Olivia sat down with Deena Kastor, the NY Times bestselling author of Let Your Mind Run. Deena is an Olympic distance runner, coach, commentator, and author. Throughout her illustrious pro racing career, she has won 24 national championships and represented the United States on 19 national teams, including 3 Olympic teams. At the 2004 Games in Athens, she won a bronze medal in the marathon and then went on to win the 2005 Chicago and 2006 London major marathons. She has held American records in every distance from 5k to marathon and currently holds the master’s American record in the marathon having run 2:27.47 in 2015. As an author, alongside co-writer Michelle Hamilton, her memoir, Let Your Mind Run won the American Society of Journalists and Authors’ award for Outstanding Memoir/Autobiography book in 2019. She is currently still racing, coaching for Mammoth Track Club and, commentating as she did just last weekend at the NY Marathon.

In this live recorded book club discussion, we talk about both the mental and physical benefits of cultivating positivity in your life, bouncing back from disappointment like she did after the 2008 Olympic Games, and whether she will consider competing at the 2024 Olympic trials among other topics from her book and audience questions.

For the 6th installment of the Runners Who Read Podcast, Olivia sat down with Steve Magness, author of the bestselling book Do Hard Things. Steve is a writer, former elite track and field athlete and coach, and world-renowned expert on performance. As an author, his books, which include The Passion Paradox and also Peak Performance as a co-author, have sold more than a quarter million copies worldwide. His writing has also been featured in The Atlantic, Forbes, Sports Illustrated and other publications. Additionally, he consults on mental skills development for professional sports teams—including some of the top teams in the NBA—and has coached many professional athletes to the Olympic and world championship level.

In this live recorded book club discussion, we talk about the shortcomings of the "fake it til you make it" cliche, effective ways to listen to your body when under pressure, and how the true definition of the word "toughness" might be a lot different than you think among other topics from his book and the audience Q&A.

Follow Steve:

Twitter: @stevemagness

Instagram: @stevemagness

Website: www.stevemagness.com

Follow Olivia:

Twitter - @obaker64

Instagram - @obaker64 

In the fifth episode of the Runners Who Read Podcast, Olivia Baker sits down with Abdi Abdirahman, author of the July 2022 book: Abdi's World. Abdi Abdirahman is a 5-time Olympian in the 10,000m and marathon. Born in Somalia, he fled the country along with his parents and 4 siblings in the midst of a civil war at just 13 years old. After spending several years in a refugee camp in Mombasa, Kenya, he immigrated to the United States through a program for Somali refugees. It wasn’t until his freshman year at Pima Community College that he would set foot on his first track but it was immediately clear that he was very talented. As a junior, he transferred to the University of Arizona where he would begin to train under Coach Dave Murray (who is still his coach to this day) and kick off a running career that has seen Abdi consistently compete at the elite level and represent the United States on the world stage for the last quarter of a century through present day.

In this episode, we discuss how he got his infamous "Black Cactus" nickname, the ways he continues to find fun in the sport after all this time, and the secret to his longevity in this sport at the elite level among other things.

Show notes:

Runners Who Read Book Club: www.atlantatrackclub.org/runners-who-read

Follow Abdi:

Twitter: @Abdi_runs

Instagram: @abdiruns

Follow Olivia

Twitter: @obaker64

Instagram: @obaker64

In the fourth episode of the Runners Who Read Podcast, Ronnel Blackmon and Olivia Baker sit down with Alexi Pappas, author of the June 2022 book: Bravey. Alexi Pappas is an Olympic runner and award-winning actor and writer. In 2016, she raced at the Olympics in Rio at 10,000m, setting the still-standing Greek national record of 31:36. Since then, she has put her degree in English from Dartmouth and Masters from University of Oregon to good use co-creating two feature films: TRACKTOWN in 2016 which she also co-directed, and OLYMPIC DREAMS in 2019 in which she also starred. In 2021, Pappas published her first book Bravey, a memoir-in-essays that was the number 1 new release in both the sports and film categories and, despite having only been around for less than 2 years is quickly becoming a classic in track and field world.

In this episode, we discuss Alexi's advice on finding and being a good mentor, taking care of your mental health, and pursuing a dream wholly and completely among other things.

Show notes:

Runners Who Read Book Club: www.atlantatrackclub.org/runners-who-read

Follow Alexi:

Twitter: @AlexiPappas

Instagram: @alexipappas

Website: Home | Bravey (alexipappas.com)

Follow Ronnel

Twitter: @ronnelblackmon

Instagram: @ronnelblackmon

Follow Olivia

Twitter: @obaker64

Instagram: @obaker64