A pair of Maryland residents won big Tuesday at the 48th annual AJC Peachtree Road Race.
Daniel Romanchuk and Tatyana McFadden started the day by winning the men’s and women’s Shepherd Center Wheelchair Divisions.
Romanchuk won the men’s division with a time of 20:02. McFadden won the women’s division with an unofficial time of 24:17, her seventh victory in Atlanta.
McFadden was the race’s top seed. She previously won from 2010-12 and 2014-16.
While it may seem par for the course on McFadden’s end, she had blood clots earlier in the year.
“It’s been a tough year. … I’m now in the recovery phase,” she said at Monday’s news conference. “So it’s definitely going to be tough not having the training during the winter. But I always look forward to coming back, and I’m hoping for a fast race.”
She got her wish. Despite that 2017 represented McFadden’s slowest winning time, it was one of her more meaningful victories.
“This one feels a little bit different,” she said. “I knew it was going to be really tough, especially this year because I was fighting blood clots two months ago. It’s just been really good to get back and back into training.
“I just wanted to stay relaxed and focused. We all go through adversity … but I didn’t want to give up on my career, on my racing.”
Romanchuk, 18, won the Junior Peachtree last year. Next he’ll participate in the Boilermaker 15K.
“It’s wonderful and exhausting. I didn’t quite have it (winning) in the sights this year,” he said. “Anything can happen.”
The Maryland native won the Cedartown Wheelchair 5K on Sunday. Romanchuk’s run is just beginning, and he said he’s looking forward to what the future holds.
About the Author
