Rain held off for most of the morning Wednesday as tens of thousands of runners lined up at the start of the Peachtree Road Race. The 10K course stretches 6.2 miles from Buckhead to midtown Atlanta.

“This was our best six miles that we’ve ever run,” said Rebekah St. Clair of McDonough.

This was St. Clair’s fourth time running the Peachtree, but the first time running it with her sister Rachel.

“We were worried about the rain and the storms, but we came out anyway and the weather was fantastic and there was just so much energy,” St. Clair explained. “You know, even with all the rain, it didn’t dampen anything. There were still tons of people, tons of spectators.”

First time runner Chris O’Neal said the overcast conditions helped him along the way.

“The fact that I’m walking and not crawling says a whole lot for me,” joked O’Neal. “Because the clouds were out, it covered the sun up so you didn’t have the temperatures that you would normally have this time of year.”

Anna Adomah of Grayson sang and chanted with her fellow volunteers as they handed out race t-shirts in what became a muddy Piedmont Park. She said she was surprised by how many people braved the soggy weather.

“Because today was a day that I didn’t think anybody was going to come out and the fact that everybody turned up in this weather is amazing,” Adomah said excitedly.

The unusual weather overshadowed other big changes to this year’s race. Organizers added more security in the wake of April’s Boston Marathon bombings.

“There’s more police at the end. That was pretty much all I noticed,” said Jennifer Roberts from Fayetteville.

Tags: Atlanta, race, weather, rain, Peachtree, running, independence day, road, fourth of july, 10K