M65-69 at the B.A.A. 10K: Persampieri Runs Away in the Heat

• Nick Persampieri won the M65-69 age group in 41:58 (6:45/mi), finishing nearly 2:43 ahead of runner-up Claude Buttrey.
• Charles Miers was the biggest mover in the top five, climbing from what was effectively a mid-pack position at 5K to lock up 4th place with a strong 5K→8K segment.
• Chris Venicx (New Braunfels, TX) and Derek Froude (Tampa, FL) brought the heat — literally — racing within 24 seconds of each other for 3rd and 5th.
• Seventy men finished in M65-69, with the top 20 covered by just over 11 minutes.

With 93°F heat baking the Boston streets and a 15 mph wind doing little to cool things down, running a 6:45-per-mile average over 10 kilometers at age 65 is a genuine statement. Nick Persampieri of Burlington, VT made exactly that statement, crossing in 41:58 and leaving the rest of the M65-69 field well behind. His margin of victory — 2 minutes and 43 seconds over Claude Buttrey — wasn't a photo finish; it was a controlled demolition in brutal conditions.

Buttrey (East Thetford, VT) and Venicx (New Braunfels, TX) traded ground through the middle miles, with Venicx ultimately claiming 3rd in 44:55 to Buttrey's 44:41. The more intriguing story in the top five belonged to Charles Miers of New York, who was sitting well back of the lead pack through the 5K checkpoint but reeled in competitors through the 5K-to-8K stretch, posting the strongest split of any top-five finisher on that segment and landing 4th in 45:04. Derek Froude (Tampa, FL) rounded out the top five in 45:19, just 15 seconds behind Miers.

Behind the top five, Garrett Tingle of Cambridge, MA — running on home turf — took 6th in 46:02, followed closely by Harry Dow of Clinton, MA in 46:24. Brian Sherras and Michael O'Hara were separated by just two seconds for 8th and 9th. In a field of 70 on a day this hot, every finish deserves respect — and the depth in this age group, with 20 men under 54 minutes, made it a legitimate race from top to bottom.