Northside Hospital becomes title partner of Atlanta’s Peachtree Road Race, ending AJC’s 49-year run
A major sponsorship shift for Atlanta’s flagship Fourth of July race
Atlanta Track Club has named Northside Hospital as the new title partner of the Peachtree Road Race, rebranding the event as the Northside Hospital Peachtree Road Race beginning with the 2026 edition. The change closes a 49-year period in which The Atlanta Journal-Constitution served as the race’s title partner, while keeping the newspaper connected to the event as its official media partner.
The Peachtree Road Race, founded in 1970, has grown from 110 finishers in its first year to an annual field of more than 50,000 participants. The race is run on July 4 and is widely recognized as the world’s largest 10K. The 57th running is scheduled for Saturday, July 4, 2026, starting at Lenox Square and finishing in Piedmont Park.
What changes for participants in 2026
Race organizers have set a two-stage registration calendar for 2026. Sponsor employees and charity-entry participants are scheduled to begin registering on March 18, 2026. General registration and Atlanta Track Club member registration are scheduled to open April 1, 2026, with non-members participating through a lottery system.
Northside Hospital’s branding will extend beyond race day. The hospital’s title partnership also covers other Peachtree-branded events operated by Atlanta Track Club, including Peachtree Junior and the Polar Opposite Peachtree Road Race, which is slated to return on Saturday, Jan. 2, 2027.
Event date: Saturday, July 4, 2026 (57th running)
Course: Lenox Square to Piedmont Park
Early registration: March 18, 2026 (sponsor employees and charity entries)
General and member registration: April 1, 2026 (lottery for non-members)
How the partnership fits Northside and Atlanta Track Club
Northside Hospital has been involved with Atlanta Track Club events for more than a decade and has been associated with Peachtree programming through prior sponsorships, including the Northside Hospital Atlanta Women’s 4 Miler. Atlanta Track Club said the expanded relationship is intended to deepen health-focused engagement around the race beyond the July 4 event itself.
The title-partner transition marks the first change in naming-rights sponsorship in roughly five decades, while preserving The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s role through a continued media partnership.
A legacy sponsor steps into a new role
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s long tenure as title partner helped establish the Peachtree as a defining Atlanta tradition, with the event’s name becoming synonymous with the holiday race for generations of runners and spectators. Under the new arrangement, the newspaper will continue race-related coverage and participant-facing information as official media partner as the event enters its next sponsorship era.