F75-79: Arlene Coulter Leads Five Across the Utica Finish Line

• Arlene Coulter, 76, wins F75-79 in 1:50:47 (11:53/mi), finishing nearly 8 minutes clear of the field.
• Lucy Burgard, 75, takes 2nd in 1:58:38 — a 7:51 gap back to Coulter, and nearly 6:21 ahead of 3rd.
• Cornelia Brown, 75, claims 3rd in 2:04:59, with Ginny Pezzula, 79, 4th in 2:11:42 and Darleen Farley, 77, rounding out the five in 2:18:22.
• All five finishers completed 15K on a humid 75°F morning — a genuine feat at any age, let alone across a field where every athlete is 75 or older.

Arlene Coulter of Fort Meade, FL made the F75-79 race her own from the opening miles. She was moving through the women's field all morning, climbing from 2,763rd among women at the 5K mark to 2,442nd by 10K and 2,363rd at the finish — steady, purposeful progress that reflected her 11:53/mi average. Her 5K-to-10K split ranked 2,123rd among women on that segment, a strong middle stretch that helped cement the gap she'd carry to the tape.

Lucy Burgard, running the roads near her home in Lee Center, NY, held 2nd place with composure. She moved from 3,090th among women at 5K to 2,869th by the finish, ticking off places throughout the race at 12:44/mi. Cornelia Brown of New Hartford, NY — just a short drive from Utica — settled into 3rd in 2:04:59, her 13:25/mi pace steady enough to keep Ginny Pezzula at bay.

Pezzula, the oldest finisher in the group at 79, crossed in 2:11:42 — and notably gained ground in the back half, climbing from 3,490th among women at 10K to 3,405th at the finish. Darleen Farley of Clifton Springs, NY closed out the five in 2:18:22, though she ran against the tide a bit: her gender place slipped from 3,351st at 5K to 3,552nd at the finish, suggesting the heat and humidity of that final stretch took their toll. Five starters, five finishers — that's the whole story in F75-79.