FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Atlanta Track Club Unveils Course for 2020 U.S. Olympic
Team Trials - Marathon
ATLANTA - January 7, 2019 - Atlanta Track Club and USA Track & Field
unveiled the course map for the 2020 U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Marathon
today. The route highlights Atlanta’s Olympic history and legacy as Olympic
hopefuls chase their dreams of representing the United States at the
Olympic Games in Tokyo. It will also provide an unprecedented number of
opportunities for spectators to cheer on America’s top distance runners at
all stages of the race which will be held on February 29, 2020.
The course consists of three 6-mile loops and one 8.2-mile loop. The start
line will be located just outside of Centennial Olympic Park in front of
the College Football Hall of Fame on Marietta Street near Atlanta’s popular
downtown attractions including Georgia Aquarium, The Center for Civil and
Human Rights and the World of Coca Cola before heading toward the city’s
best known thoroughfare - Peachtree Street. On Peachtree, the runners will
pass the Fox Theatre and loop around the Margaret Mitchell House, a museum
honoring the legendary author of "Gone with the Wind." From Peachtree
Street, the course takes the competitors into Atlanta’s Historic Old Fourth
Ward where they will find the Martin Luther King National Historic Park,
birthplace and burial site of the Civil Rights icon.
The final loop will include a 2.2-mile section of the course, which will
take the athletes by the Georgia State Capitol building and underneath the
Olympic Rings and Cauldron structure outside Georgia State Stadium that
served as the Olympic Stadium at the 1996 Atlanta Games. In the 26th mile,
the race for a Tokyo Olympic berth will pass the homes of the Atlanta
Falcons, Atlanta United FC and the Atlanta Hawks, and the Georgia World
Congress Center before finishing inside Centennial Olympic Park, downtown’s
transformational Olympic legacy green space.
Over the marathon distance, the Trials competitors will experience
approximately 1,000 feet of elevation gain with a net elevation loss of 17
feet due to the proximity of the start and finish lines.
A virtual tour of the course can be viewed here.
"Atlanta Track Club has put together a history-filled and exciting course
for the 2020 U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials," said USATF CEO Max Siegel.
"Running through the iconic Atlanta downtown and through historic roads
will be exciting for both competitors and spectators."
With more than a year until the race, Atlanta Track Club has begun working
with community groups as well as residents and businesses along the course
to deliver an unequaled Trials atmosphere on February 29. On the famed
Peachtree Street, fans will have eight chances to see the Olympic hopefuls
on their Olympic journey. Grants and scholarships to school cross country
and track and field teams, clubs and non-profits that commit to hosting a
cheer zone will deliver on the promised legacy of the event.
"This course will show the competitors and spectators why we believe
Atlanta is Running City USA," said Rich Kenah, Atlanta Track Club’s
Executive Director. "From the top three male and female finishers who punch
their ticket to Tokyo to the final finishers, Atlanta Track Club, the city
of Atlanta and the people of Atlanta will provide a championship experience
these runners will remember for the rest of their lives."
In March of 2018, Atlanta was chosen as the host city for the 2020 Olympic
Team Trials - Marathon. All runners and walkers, including Olympic hopefuls
will have an opportunity to preview the course for the first time at the
Road To Gold. The 8.2-mile race organized by Atlanta Track Club will be
held March 2, 2019. Registration is open now.
The 2020 U.S. Olympic Team Trials - Marathon will be held on February 29,
2020.
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