Peachtree Road Race 2026 will bring more than 55,000 runners and walkers to Atlanta on Saturday, July 4, and the first road closures begin before dawn. The 57th annual Northside Hospital Peachtree Road Race stretches from Lenox Square in Buckhead to Piedmont Park in Midtown, so drivers in both districts need a different plan.
That crowd is why the race has long been treated as the world's largest 10K, and this year it again pulls participants from more than 30 countries. For people trying to get to work, a store or the race itself, the practical issue is not the finish line — it is which roads shut first and how long they stay that way.
Lenox Square starts closing at 4:30 a.m.
Several streets near the starting line at Lenox Square begin closing around 4:30 a.m. Saturday. Portions of Lenox Road, Buckhead Loop, Roxboro Road, Wieuca Road, Kingsboro Road, Oak Valley Road and nearby intersections close around the starting area, cutting off the easiest driving routes into Buckhead before the race is fully underway.
MARTA trains begin running at 4 a.m. on race day, and Lenox Station on the Gold Line provides the easiest access to the starting area. Organizers strongly encourage runners and spectators to skip driving altogether, which fits the closure pattern: the start area locks down first, then the route through Buckhead and Midtown closes in stages.
Peachtree Road stays shut until late morning
Peachtree Road from Piedmont Road to 10th Street closes at 5 a.m. Saturday and remains closed until about 11:30 a.m. A rolling reopening is expected to begin around 9:30 a.m., but the full route is not expected to reopen before approximately 11 a.m.
Near the finish at Piedmont Park in Midtown, portions of 10th Street, Monroe Drive, 8th Street and Peachtree Place are closed throughout the morning. Some finish-area closures began earlier this week to prepare for race operations, so the disruption starts before race morning and lasts well past the midpoint of the event.
Midtown Station handles the finish
Midtown Station is the closest rail stop to the finish near Piedmont Park, and shuttle buses run between Midtown and Lindbergh stations after the race. That gives spectators and runners two workable transit options at the finish end, while keeping cars out of the busiest stretch of Midtown roads.
For drivers, the main takeaway is simple: the route is built to move runners from Lenox Square to Piedmont Park, not traffic. Roads reopen in stages, but anyone crossing Buckhead or Midtown Saturday morning should expect the race footprint to control the streets until late morning.
