Before
Atlanta Track Club acquired the race and renamed it to Atlanta Marathon, it had operated its own race under the Atlanta Marathon name between 1963 and 2009, and continues as the
Invesco QQQ Half Marathon and 5k, with only a Half Marathon and 5k race. The first running of what is now the Invesco QQQ Half Marathon was in 1963 at the North
Fulton Golf Course, making it the oldest in the
Southeast. The following year, the Atlanta Track Club was formed, and has run the event every year since. In 1966, Tim Singleton became director, and later founded the
Peachtree Road Race.
Fred Lebow ran in the marathon in the late 1960s, and later founded the
New York City Marathon in 1970. Since 1981, this event has been held on
Thanksgiving and was believed to be the longest of several
turkey trots held on Thanksgiving across the country. In 2010, the full marathon only was removed with a new race date in October and with a new loop course, while the half marathon and accompanying 5 km races continue to be held on the date. The Invesco QQQ Half Marathon and 5k continues as the largest
half marathon on the holiday in the country. The Atlanta Track Club initially cancelled the Atlanta Half Marathon in April as a result of the
COVID-19 pandemic, as the
Peachtree Road Race was to have taken the Invesco QQQ Half Marathon date. However, by August, the Peachtree was also cancelled.
Course From 1964 until 1980, the race had its beginning, middle, and end at
The Westminster Schools campus, twice running a loop up
Nancy Creek Road. Originally run on the weekend before
Christmas, it was changed in the mid-1970s to be after the holiday. This was done in conjunction with the
Peach Bowl, a
bowl game held every year around
New Year's Day, and it was renamed the
Peach Bowl Marathon. In 1981, the race was moved to
downtown Atlanta, and the date changed to
Thanksgiving in late November. This move doubled participation in the race, renamed back as the Atlanta Marathon. In 1981 and 1982, it ended in
Decatur. From 1983 to 1991, the marathon began in the
suburban
metro Atlanta town of
Lithonia and going east through
Stone Mountain, with the half-marathon beginning at the halfway point in
Clarkston, and both ending in Atlanta's
Piedmont Park after traversing Decatur, and the
Atlanta neighborhoods of
Inman Park and
Virginia–Highland. This route was along the
CSX railroad tracks, thus it was much less
hilly than previous routes. On one occasion, the race was held for a
train; on another, the train was held for the race. From 1992 to 1996, it began and ended near
Atlanta–Fulton County Stadium, running north on Piedmont Road (
Georgia 237) to
Peachtree Street, where it headed north and then back south. The start of the half-marathon was near the
Chamblee MARTA station. From 1997 to 2009, about 90% was run along the same course used for the
1996 Summer Olympics, ending near
Center Parc Stadium (built as
Centennial Olympic Stadium in the A-FC stadium
parking lot). The final loop course went through many major sites within Atlanta, including the Olympic rings. Since then, the half marathon course for which is the continuation of the original Atlanta Marathon starts on Capitol Avenue, with a turn to Decatur Street, Marietta Street, through Centennial Olympic Park, Atlantic Station, Piedmont Park, where the runners run the final kilometer of the Peachtree in the other direction, before jumping to Courtland, Street, Irwin Street, then returning to Decatur Street before a dash to Capitol Avenue and finishing inside
Center Parc Stadium. ==PNC 10 Miler==