African Leaders Will Hand Water To Peachtree Road Race Runners

ATLANTA, GA -- When runners in Tuesday's Atlanta Journal-Constitution Peachtree Road Race trek from Buckhead to Midtown line, they may be greeted by one of 25 African leaders along the way. The fellows will be positioned at the one-mile water stop of the 10 kilometer (6.2 miles) race.

The fellows are in town as part of the Mandela Washington Fellowship for Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI). (To get notified of more local news like this, click here to sign up for the Atlanta Patch. Or find your Atlanta-area town here. Or, if you have an iPhone, download the free Patch app.)

The fellows, who are in Georgia for six weeks to immerse themselves in educational and entrepreneurial leadership training, represent several African nations, including Botswana, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Kenya, Madagascar, Nigeria, South Africa, Uganda, and Zimbabwe.

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“We are tremendously excited about the arrival of this year’s class,” Ronald A. Johnson, CAU President, said in a news release. “Hosting these global entrepreneurs and leaders allows our university to tap into an expanding global enterprise.”

“Volunteering for the AJC Peachtree Road Race is an annual tradition for many volunteers on July 4th,” says Caryn Lamphier, Atlanta Track Club manager of Volunteer Services. “The YALI fellows from CAU have the unique experience of seeing every single one of our participants pass by; from the very first wheelchair participant, to the elite field, to our military teams, to our last runner to come through."

The fellows will conclude their YALI training with a summit in Washington, D.C.

Image courtesy of CAU