Berlin Marathon M65-69: Juarez Amador Storms to a Sub-2:57 Win

• Hector Alejandro Juarez Amador won the M65-69 group in 2:56:33 (6:44/mi) — the only finisher in the group to break three hours.
• Lars Harald Blikra claimed 2nd in 3:08:24, finishing nearly 12 minutes back but well clear of 3rd.
• Silvano Salazar rounded out the podium in 3:21:27, with the top three separated by nearly 25 minutes in total.
• Places 6 through 9 were a genuine traffic jam: Diedrich (3:28:01), Huizer (3:28:45), Mawhinney (3:28:46), and Kim (3:29:45) — four men within 105 seconds of each other.

Hector Alejandro Juarez Amador didn't just win the M65-69 group at the 2025 BMW Berlin Marathon — he put the field firmly in his rearview mirror. Running 6:44 per mile across 26.2 miles, the 65-year-old from the front of the pack was the only athlete in a 590-strong group to crack three hours. His move through the men's field told the same story: he was tracking steadily forward all day, climbing from 2,400th among men at the early checkpoints all the way to 1,545th by 40K, a relentless upward march that never stalled.

Lars Harald Blikra ran a composed 3:08:24 to take 2nd, making a strong move of his own through the men's field — rising from 6,053rd at the early mark to 2,672nd by 40K. That kind of sustained forward momentum over 40 kilometers is no accident. Silvano Salazar completed the podium in 3:21:27, also climbing steadily through the field all the way to the finish.

The real drama in M65-69 came just outside the podium. Norman Mawhinney (4th, 3:28:46), Christian Diedrich (6th, 3:28:01), and Ron Huizer (8th, 3:28:45) all crossed within 46 seconds of one another — and Diedrich, despite finishing 45 seconds faster than Huizer, ended up 2 places behind him in the official order, a reminder of just how fine the timing margins can be in a field of 590. Kim Soonkyeong (9th, 3:29:45) and Sanshi Akira (11th, 3:29:24) added to the cluster, making positions 6 through 11 a remarkably tight 108-second window across six athletes.