M75-79: Richard Lane Dominates in Utica's July Humidity

• Richard Lane, 75, wins in 1:30:05 — a 9:40/mi clip that put more than 13 minutes between him and second place.
• Steven Gross (2nd, 1:43:18) and Paul Boor (3rd, 1:45:14) were separated by just 1:56, with George Jackson (4th, 1:46:07) a further 53 seconds back — three men within two minutes for the final podium spots.
• Charles Brockett, 78, was the only finisher in the top five to lose ground in the men's field over the final stretch, slipping from 3,783rd to 3,848th among men between 10K and the finish — a fade that nonetheless secured him 5th in 1:51:02.
• 29 finishers completed the M75-79 race on a humid July morning — 88% humidity with barely a breath of wind to offer relief.

Richard Lane made this one look straightforward. The 75-year-old from Endicott, NY, moved steadily and purposefully through the men's field — climbing from 3,228th at the first checkpoint to 2,395th by the finish — and crossed in 1:30:05 at a 9:40/mi average. That's a margin of 13 minutes and 13 seconds over the field, the kind of gap that speaks for itself on a warm, sticky Utica morning.

Behind Lane, the real race was for the podium. Steven Gross of Jamesville, NY, came home second in 1:43:18 (11:05/mi), with Paul Boor of Galveston, TX, close on his heels in 1:45:14 (11:17/mi). Boor actually ran the 10K-to-finish segment slightly faster among the men's field than Gross did — both men were climbing through the standings in that closing stretch — but Gross had built enough of a cushion to hold second by 1:56. George Jackson (Schenectady, NY) rounded out the top four in 1:46:07, just 53 seconds shy of Boor.

Charles Brockett of Dolgeville, NY, at 78 the oldest man in the top five, claimed 5th in 1:51:02. The field then spread out considerably, with Fran Landolf (6th, 1:52:39), Michael Thumann (7th, 1:53:06), and Chris Almy (8th, 1:53:37) bunched within a minute of each other. Roger Howe (9th, 1:55:34) and Donald Willner (10th, 1:56:47) closed out the top ten, all of them earning their finishes on a course that offered no shade from the humidity.