From New Faces to the End of an Era, It Was a Peachtree to Remember
The 54th Running of the Atlanta
Journal-Constitution Peachtree Road Race once again brought the streets of
Atlanta alive with red, white and blue as tens of thousands of participants
made their way down Peachtree Street in an Independence Day parade like no
other - this year led by Bill Thorn, serving as Grand Marshal as he closed out
his streak as the only person to complete every Peachtree with a breaking of
the tape as he crossed his last, ceremonial finish line.
On the other end of the spectrum were the winners of the
men's and women's open divisions, both competing in the iconic July 4 race for
the first time. Charles Langat, 27, of Kenya, prevailed in 27:42 after a
breathtaking battle that saw the top four finishers cross the line within one
second of each other, while Ethiopia's Fotyen Tesfay, 25, surprised a fast and
deep field with her victory in 30:43, the fifth-fastest winning time in
history.
Things looked more familiar in the Shepherd Center
Wheelchair Division, with the 24-year-old Daniel Romanchuk winning the men's
race in 19:28 and 32-year-old Susannah Scaroni, the course record-holder,
taking the women's in 22:11. It was Romanchuk's sixth-consecutive victory here,
with that total tying him with the legendary Craig Blanchette for the most wins
ever in the Peachtree men's elite wheelchair division. It was Scaroni's 10th
Peachtree. Both Americans won their races by a wide margin.
In the men's open race, 2016 Peachtree champion Gabriel Geay
of Tanzania broke away from a pack of seven just before the turn onto 10th
Street - the only turn on the course - with about 1000 meters to go, and it
looked as if the veteran's experience would be his key to another victory. But
Langat pulled even with about 300 meters remaining and then surged ahead before
Geay and Ethiopians Nibret Melak and Jemal Yimer came up on his heels. Langat
would break the tape in 27:42, with Geay, Melak and Yimer all given identical
times of 27:43 for second, third and fourth, in that order.
"Actually, I was not expecting to win this race, because my
competitors were in good shape," said Langat, who came into the race with the
second-fastest 10K personal best in the field but is in only his second year of
high-level racing. The victory, he said, "gives me hope in running."
The women's race was down to three by the 8K mark, with
defending champion Senbere Teferi of Ethiopia apparently seizing control up 10th
Street before stunningly veering right just a block before the finish as she seemed
confused over instructions and followed a motorcycle that was turning off the
course. Her countrywoman, Tesfay, would instead break the tape, in 30:43,
followed by Jesca Chelangat of Kenya in 30:45. Amazingly, Teferi recovered in
time to finish third, in 30:47.
"I saw the finish line in front of me and pushed ahead,"
said Tesfay, who finished fifth earlier this year in the World Cross Country
Championships and was running her first road race in the U.S.
Top Americans were Andrew Colley, 32, of Blowing Rock, N.C.,
in 28:47 and Annie Frisbie, 26, of Hopkins, MN, in 32:19.
"I had some time goals that the [humid] weather didn't
permit, but to be top American and compete with some top Kenyans and Ethiopian
guys and keep them in my sights … I'd say it's a good day," said Colley who was
13th overall. The top Georgian finishers were Justin Wachtel (31:02)
and Liz Galarza (34:51). Wachtel, of Forsyth, GA, competed for Mary Persons
High School; Galarza, of Cumming, GA, was an Atlanta Track Club All-Metro
selection when she competed for West Forsyth and finished as the top woman in
the non-elite race.
With about 30 minutes remaining until the official course
closure, the rest of the race was canceled for safety reasons because of
lightning, with just over 500 participants still on the course.
Before the thunderstorm, Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens crossed
the line in 1:01:53. "This was my very first Peachtree and I'm so excited," he
said at the finish, voicing pleasure at being able to talk to so many people
along the way in the world's largest 10K. "I'm just so thrilled that we're
celebrating independence together." Asked if he planned to participate again,
he sounded like every other runner with a goal. "Again and again and again," he
said. "And get better and better. I'm trying to get under an hour."
Even as Mayor Dickens was completing his first Peachtree, and
98-year-old Betty Lindberg was finishing her 34th in 2:15:32, Bill
Thorn was completing his last in a ceremonial breaking of the tape. After 53
consecutive Peachtrees, Thorn - the only person to have completed every race
since the event began in 1970 - decided a week or so before the race to end his
streak, and was honored with one more trip down the course, this time in a pace
car as Grand Marshal ("that was cool," he said afterward).
"One more time," said the 92-year-old, after disembarking
and walking across the finish line. "I guess it's the last one."
