ATLANTA — Tens of thousands of runners are expected to take part in the Peachtree Road Race despite a heat wave in metro Atlanta.

Race Director Rich Kenah said participants range from children as young as 10 to runners in their 80s, with about 56,000 to 57,000 expected this year.

“This is how Atlanta celebrates the Fourth of July. It’s not the world’s largest 10K road race, it’s the world’s largest running partner if you will,” Kenah said.

He encouraged runners to stay hydrated ahead of time and focus on finishing safely rather than setting a personal record.

The race is expected to begin under Red Flag conditions due to the heat. Atlanta Track Club officials say if conditions worsen, a Black Flag could be issued, which would stop the race.

Kenah said there is a threshold that could lead to cancellation, but officials do not expect conditions to reach that level.

“We’ve had I think six or seven races where they’ve started at 80 degrees or higher, and we don’t expect that tomorrow. But we do expect it to get warm very fast,” Kenah said.

He added this year’s race will be one of the largest since the pandemic.

“We expect about 56,000 to 57,000 people, which is the largest one we’ve had since Covid,” Kenah said.

Road closures include:

• Peachtree Road from Lenox Road to Peachtree Dunwoody Road
• Lenox Road from Peachtree Road to Ferncliff Road
• Buckhead Loop from Peachtree Road to Lenox Road
• Wieuca Road from Phipps Boulevard to Roxboro Road
• Roxboro Road from Kingsboro Road to Peachtree Dunwoody Road
• Pritchard Road from Roxboro Road to Oak Valley Road
• Lakeside Road from Pritchard Road to Kingsboro Road
• Kingsboro Road from Roxboro Road to Lenox Road
• Oak Valley Road from Peachtree Road to East Paces Ferry Road
• 10th Street from Peachtree Street to Monroe Drive
• 8th Street from Monroe Drive to Peachtree Street
• Monroe Drive from Kanuga Street to Virginia Avenue
• Peachtree Place from Peachtree Street to West Peachtree

Rolling re-openings are expected late Saturday morning as runners clear the course, officials said.

Drivers are encouraged to plan ahead and expect delays in Buckhead and Midtown.

WSB Radio’s Miles Montgomery contributed to this story.