Runners finally got their shot at sprinting down a runway at the world's busiest airport Saturday morning, as the Mayor's 5K on the Runway kicked off weeks later than planned at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. The race, now in its 12th year, had been pushed back from its original October 10 date due to weather concerns that ultimately proved well-founded.
The City of Atlanta announced the postponement the day before the scheduled run, stating that the annual event scheduled for October 10 at Hartsfield-Jackson had been postponed due to expected inclement weather, according to a notice shared via City of Atlanta communications. The call came as storms tied to the remnants of Hurricane Isaias barreled toward the region, and the race ended up delayed by several weeks as a result, according to Atlanta News First.
Isaias Soaked North Georgia Right on Cue
The postponement looked justified almost immediately. Tropical rainbands moved north through metro Atlanta on October 10, and one slow-moving band prompted a Flash Flood Warning for parts of Clayton, DeKalb, Fulton, Gwinnett, Henry and Rockdale counties, per WSB Radio. A high wind warning and flood watch blanketed most of north Georgia through that Sunday morning as the storm, by then a post-tropical cyclone, pushed through the region, the station's report noted.
Word of the delay spread quickly online. Atlanta's airport posted an update on X warning that the Mayor's 5K on the 5th Runway scheduled for October 10 had been postponed, with a new date to be announced later. That new date turned out to be Saturday, November 7, when the race finally stepped off from one of the runways at the busiest airport in the world, per the same account from Atlanta News First.
A Scholarship Fund and a Qualifying Course
Proceeds from the 12th annual run benefit the Mayor's Youth Scholarship Program and United Way of Greater Atlanta, Atlanta News First reported. Atlanta News First anchor Brooks Baptiste served as the event's emcee for Saturday's race.
Event organizers billed the course as USATF-certified, making it a qualifier for the AJC Peachtree Road Race, according to the event's RunSignup listing. Registration for the rescheduled race was capped at the first 2,000 participants, the listing noted.
Age Rules and a Runway Deadline
Race organizers set the minimum participant age at 10 years old, and anyone younger than 18 had to be accompanied by an adult who was also registered for the race, per the RunSignup event information. Runners and walkers also faced a hard cutoff: the course had to be cleared by 7:30 a.m., which organizers noted required roughly a 17-minute-per-mile pace.
