2027 Run the Reagan 2026

For one morning each February, Ronald Reagan Parkway belongs to the runners. Gwinnett County closes the road outright for Run the Reagan, and the half marathon rolls down the pavement with none of the traffic, curb-hopping, or stoplight interruptions that define most suburban races. The profile is forgiving — this is parkway, not piedmont — and the winter air, typically in the 40s and 50s, is the kind that makes fast miles feel almost easy.

The field is modest but growing, around 350 finishers in recent years, with roughly a quarter of tracked runners returning for another go. Runners travel in from about eight states, and the winning times hover near 81 minutes, so there's genuine racing at the front without the corral crush of a mega-event. Alongside the half sit timed and untimed 10K and 5K races and a 1K fun run, which keeps the morning feeling like a town gathering rather than a pure race-day machine.

The cause is the through-line. Proceeds go to the Brookwood Schools Foundation, the South Gwinnett Cluster Foundation, and the Lilburn Cooperative Ministry, with race revenue shared back to local schools whose communities registered. A Family Fun Center with music, games, and vendor booths rounds out the morning. It's a race built for the community it runs through — and it shows.