F80+ Boilermaker: Susan Gay Owns the Field

• Sole finisher: Susan Gay, 83, of Edmeston, NY — crossed in 2:02:41 at a 13:10/mi average.
• The whole podium: Gay stood alone at the top, middle, and bottom of the F80+ standings.
• Mid-race: Gay held her position well through the first 5K before the broader women's field — many running at a significantly faster pace — streamed past over the back half.

There's a certain purity to a one-finisher field: Susan Gay didn't just win the F80+ race at the 2026 Boilermaker 15K — she was the F80+ race. At 83 years old, on a humid July morning in Utica, she covered all 15 kilometers in 2:02:41.

The pacing data tells a story of a runner who knew exactly what she was doing. Gay moved through the first 5K in solid position among the women's field before the gap to the faster runners widened on the 5K-to-10K stretch — a natural consequence of the field's pace differential, not a collapse. Finishing 15 kilometers at 13:10 per mile at age 83 is its own complete achievement, full stop.

No one else in the F80+ field dared show up. Susan Gay did, and she ran every meter of it.