Metro Atlanta runner preparing for 49th consecutive Northside Hospital Peachtree Road Race

For nearly five decades, the Fourth of July has meant one thing for Zachary Doppel: showing up at the starting line of the Northside Hospital Peachtree Road Race.

This Saturday, the metro Atlanta runner will participate in the iconic 10-kilometer race for the 49th consecutive year, continuing a tradition that began in 1978 and has become woven into his family's Independence Day celebration.

"It's one of the events I look forward to every year," Doppel said. "I started in 1978 and have done it every year since. When July 4th comes, I may be traveling someplace, but on that day, I'm here, I'm ready to run."

Inside Doppel's home, decades of running history line the walls. Race medals, trophies, and photographs document a lifetime of competition that includes triathlons, adventure races, mountain biking, and an eight-day climb to Mount Kilimanjaro with his wife, Cathy.

Another collection fills a rack upstairs with every Peachtree Road Race shirt he's earned since his first race.

"I started in '78, and I've got the shirt from every race since then," Doppel said. "So that's 48 shirts. This is the 49th year."

In just two weeks, Doppel will celebrate his 75th birthday. While age, injuries, and multiple joint replacements have changed the way he runs, they haven't changed his commitment to Atlanta's signature Independence Day tradition.

"It's the only race I really run now," Doppel said. "Over the years, injuries and body part replacements slowed me down. So now I just try to get to the finish line."

When Doppel first lined up in 1978, about 10,000 runners took part. Today, the Northside Hospital Peachtree Road Race is one of the world's largest 10K races, drawing tens of thousands of participants each Fourth of July.

For Doppel, the race has become more than a finish line.

"I couldn't imagine it," he said. "We always had a big party after the Peachtree Road Race for the family. We still do that here at our house every year."

That annual post-race gathering has become just as much a tradition as the run itself, bringing family together every Independence Day.

Next year, Doppel hopes to accomplish a goal he's been chasing for decades: completing his 50th consecutive Peachtree Road Race.

"It's going to be the achievement of a 50-year-long goal," he said. "I think it's going to feel really good when I go across that finish line and get that T-shirt."

With hot and humid conditions expected, organizers encourage runners to stay hydrated, pace themselves, and take precautions in the summer heat.