What it Takes to Organize a Company Team for the Peachtree 10K

I work at UPS, which has fielded a team of runners for the Peachtree Road Race for the past 10 years. We’re a big company and more than 1,000 employees and their family members sign up to run the race together.

I was curious to learn more about what’s involved. So, I spent some time chatting with my friend and colleague Phil Mittenzwei. Phil, along with Pat Kramb and Andra Ozolins, comprise the UPS Peachtree Road Race Committee.

Planning for the race kicks off in January where the committee talks through logistics. As part of UPS’s sponsorship, employees and family members are offered early registration for the race. Along with coordinating registration, the committee produces team T-shirts, organizes food, drinks and volunteers for the hospitality tent. One of the highlights is driving a UPS truck (known as a “package car” by UPSers) to Costco to pick-up hospitality supplies. The biggest task? That would be distributing team T-shirts to more than 1,000 employees. Phil orders extra shirts to sell at UPS as a United Way fundraiser.

This will be Phil’s 19th year running the Peachtree. It’s become an annual tradition that he enjoys celebrating with fellow Atlantans. Each year, Phil’s wife cheers from the same spot on 14th Street where he stops to give her a kiss.

While planning the UPS sponsorship and race team is a big undertaking, it’s an opportunity that Phil and the committee members eagerly anticipate each year. As a fellow UPSer, I say “Go Team!”