The annual Fourth of July Peachtree Road Race will be held Saturday and much of the success of the race is due in large part to the Atlanta Track Club, located in Buckhead.

The race is the largest 10K (six miles) in the nation with 55,000 runners each year. The event is set up by the Atlanta Track Club — the second largest track club in the nation — with help from volunteers, including coaches.

Genie Beaver, owner of West Stride, a running store in Buckhead, is a volunteer coach for the Atlanta Track Club. She helps coach runners who are new to 10K races.

“Our group was made up of novices, true beginners and then some folks that had run a couple of miles, but had never done a true 10K before,” she said. “It’s been great and they have really come so far.”

Beaver, who has run in the last seven Peachtree Road races, said the training the track club set forth has been great for her runners.

“Most of [the runners] ran the actual Peachtree course and came back and thought that after running around the hills of Buckhead that they were more than prepared for the Peachtree,” she said.

The Atlanta Track Club is an excellent resource for Atlanta runners, said Beaver.
“We’re so fortunate in Atlanta to have [the Atlanta Track Club] …it’s huge,” she said. “It’s such a blessing for me because it’s my sport and I love it. There is a great network of people that really care about running…and there are races every month that only cost a five dollars for members.”

Fellow volunteer coach Roland Benoit — a product of the 10-week beginners program — echoed some of the same sentiments towards the club, specifically the club’s ability to help runner progress.

“It’s a great program,” he said.” “I was asked to volunteer and I was more than willing to help.”

Benoit, originally from Brooklyn, N.Y., ran his first Peachtree last year, and raved about the experience.

“There was nothing like it,” he said. “You can train all you want, but the actual race day — you’re surrounded by 55,000 people and it just takes you to another level. No one can really prepare for it unless they’ve actually ran a Peachtree before.”

Benoit, who describes himself as “just another average Joe,” looks forward to improving his time from last year and helping others do likewise.