Atlanta Track Club: Supercharging the AJC Peachtree Road Race

The AJC Peachtree Road Race is not just any race – it's the world's largest 10K, drawing 50,000 runners every July 4th to the heart of Atlanta, Georgia. But the Atlanta Track Club (ATC) isn’t just about one event. They host 50 events annually, attracting over 125,000 runners. With such a massive community, the ATC wanted to up their online game and get even more people excited about their events, especially the big 10K. They set out to reignite the ATC's Strava Club, boost race prep and celebrate the incredible stories that come out of their events.

GET GOING: Start your Event Presence on Strava

How they did it

ATC leveraged Strava as a platform through several key strategies designed to engage participants both on and off the Strava platform. Here’s how they made it happen:

1. Reactivating the ATC Strava Club:

ATC revitalized its Strava Club by adding Strava links and icons to the ATC website, effectively bringing the club back to life. Weekly event spotlights attracted more than 11,000 members, turning it into a lively hub where runners could connect and share their passion year-round. From the get-go, there were over 200 members posts on the club with an average engagement rate above seven percent.

“Thanks to Strava, we understand that the runners and walkers in our events want to start celebrating each other weeks before the race even begins, and the best way to do that is to allow them to post and talk about their training beforehand.” - The ATC.

2. Route Embed for Race Preparation:

Getting ready for a race is serious business, and the ATC made it easier than ever by embedding the 10K race route directly from Strava onto their website. Runners could get a sneak peek at the 2024 AJC Peachtree Road Race course, helping them plan and visualize every step. Sixty-seven percent of the clicks on the embed module were to save the route on the user device, showing the value the route had for participants.

FIND OUT HOW: How to Embed a Strava Route

“The most significant impact we had through this collaboration was the route building and embedding features. Once we built the race course via Strava Routes, we created a Club event within our Strava Club for the race, then embedded the course route on our website. This allowed participants to learn about our Strava Club and give everyone a preview of what to expect from the course. For first-time Peachtree participants, this was very impactful for information sharing/preview purposes, and for veteran participants, it allowed us to showcase what is new, such as course entertainment we marked through the route’s waypoints.” - The ATC.

3. Driving Registrations with Smart Email Campaigns

To increase registration and build excitement for race day, Strava and the ATC teamed up on a pre-race email blast to the ATC database that garnered a 61.8% open rate. The email included:

• The race route embed to share a detailed overview of the course to runners who were still considering registering

• A link to ATC’s Strava Club to welcome runners into their vibrant community 

• A Call To Action for participants to upload their race on Strava for a chance to win a VIP Strava package and membership  

The email was hugely successful, and ATC plans to build upon this approach as they celebrate their 60th anniversary.

4. Amplifying Community Stories through Creativity:

ATC activated their community by challenging members to head outdoors and create their very own “Strava Peachtree Art,” adding a fun twist to their training and encouraging community participation. Strava then featured this workout art on its social platforms, highlighting ATC’s creative flair in engaging their Community.

The Impact

The Strava and ATC partnership delivered some remarkable results:

• Strava Club Growth: This year, nearly 1,500 new members joined the ATC Strava Club, leading to over 245,000 impressions and solidifying ATC’s online presence

• Expanded Social Reach: The “Peachtree Strava Art” was a hit, with 156,000 content views, extending the race’s visibility far beyond Strava’s usual channels

• Athlete and Ambassador Growth: The ATC was able to form deeper relationships with Strava’s network of runners, who helped promote and advocate for the 10K race

Additionally, on race day, 9,200 runners uploaded their runs to Strava, with women making up 39% of those uploads. The community showed its support with over 80,000 Kudos. Before the ATC took advantage of Strava’s features, the Race Penetration on Strava was growing slowly. However, after leveraging the resources above, their race penetration saw an 83% year-over-year increase.

“Our biggest takeaway from this collaboration was realizing how much the community can and will come together to celebrate each other’s accomplishments via Strava. We saw a huge uptick in engagement within our Strava Club during the AJC Peachtree Road Race. All engagement was positive and encouraging!” - The ATC.

In the end, the collaboration between Strava and the Atlanta Track Club did more than just enhance the club’s digital presence – it set a new standard for how to prepare, participate and celebrate in the running community. With plans already in the works to expand these efforts in 2025, the future looks bright for both the ATC and its runners.