When Tina Tait crossed the finish line Saturday in The Atlanta Journal-Constitution’s Peachtree Road Race, she got a surprise: She had won the T-shirt design contest.
Tait’s “Americana” design, the first one she ever submitted, is on this year’s AJC Peachtree Road Race T-shirts. After the race, the graphic designer held up the red shirt with a peach in the middle, framed by the Atlanta skyline.
“That was my most exciting moment,” Tait said on finding out she had won the contest. “Thinking about 60,000 people running around in my shirt (or) at the grocery store tomorrow. Everyone wears it the next day.”
Tait, who had a bow in her hair with the same artwork, has wanted to create a design for the Peachtree since she moved to the city about 20 years ago. This was Tait’s fourth consecutive year running the Peachtree and in that time she’s lost 130 pounds. She’s an in-training coach for the Peachtree.
“This year I just decided was my year,” said Tait, who lives in Decatur. “Peachtree is my favorite race, and I just felt like it was time I submitted one.”
Because of a busy schedule, Tait created the design at the last minute. Not knowing the color of the T-shirt was tough, Tait said, but she enjoyed the challenge. It took about four or five hours to create the design, which was inspired by Tait’s love of folk art.
“I usually do a lot better at the last minute under pressure,” said Tait, who lives in Decatur. “Pressure makes diamonds as I like to say.”
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