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 10thPeachtree. 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 10thStreet – 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…
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