Boilermaker 5K F65-69: Brockway Pulls Clear in the Heat

• Debbie Brockway (New Hartford, NY) wins in 27:57 at 8:60/mi — the fastest time in the F65-69 field of 48.
• 23-second gap separates 1st from 2nd; just 10 seconds split 2nd through 3rd (28:20 to 28:30).
• The top five finished within 1:30 of each other — a tight early pack before the field stretched out across 84°F heat.
• Paula Iannello (6th, 31:26) marks a notable step back from the podium, with nearly a two-minute gap opening between 5th and 6th place.

Debbie Brockway, 67, from nearby New Hartford, was the class of the F65-69 field on a warm July afternoon in Utica. Her 27:57 — just under a 9:00/mi average — put daylight between her and the rest from the outset, and she never gave it back. Merle Maxey of Verona Beach crossed in 28:20 to claim second, with Paula Balch of Clinton following just 10 seconds later in 28:30 to round out the podium. Those two ran each other honest all the way to the line.

The race's most compelling subplot was the battle for 4th and 5th. Kathleen Zailac (Akron, NY) finished 4th in 29:09, with Ann Marie Lewicki (Hartwick, NY) pressing her to the finish in 29:27 — an 18-second margin across 3.1 miles in the heat. After that top-five cluster, the field spread considerably: Paula Iannello (Verona, NY) was 6th in 31:26, nearly two minutes behind Lewicki, and the remaining finishers ranged from Christine Sowalskie's 32:37 in 7th to Cynthia Jenness's 35:56 in 20th.

Forty-eight women toed the line for F65-69 under scattered clouds and 84°F temperatures — no small feat at any pace. Brockway's win was the sharpest performance of the morning in this field, but the depth of competition in the top five, with five athletes all finishing under 9:30/mi, made for a genuinely hard-fought race from the front.