Boilermaker 5K M50-54: Elias Dominates in the Heat

• Ed Elias wins in 19:46 (6:22/mi), more than 1:40 clear of second place — the most commanding margin of the top finishers.
• Tight podium battle: Lee Amburgy (3rd, 21:57) and Jim Capone (4th, 22:00) were separated by just three seconds across 3.1 miles.
• Quang Le of Utica runs a hometown 21:29 to claim 2nd at a 6:55/mi pace — a full 28 seconds ahead of the podium fight behind him.
• 104 finishers completed the M50-54 race on a warm July morning — 84°F with humidity in the mid-50s.

Ed Elias of Whitesboro made the M50-54 race his own from the start. His 19:46 finish at a 6:22/mi clip wasn't just a win — it was a statement. Running more than a minute and forty seconds ahead of Quang Le in 2nd, the 53-year-old left no ambiguity about who owned this field on a humid summer morning in Utica.

Le, racing on home turf, held 2nd comfortably at 21:29 (6:55/mi), keeping a clean gap between himself and the scrum behind him. That scrum was real: Lee Amburgy (21:57, 7:04/mi) and Jim Capone (22:00, 7:05/mi) essentially raced each other to the line, with three seconds deciding 3rd and 4th across the full 5K. Amburgy edged it. John Sentz rounded out the top five in 22:24, with Jason Dehaan of Montreal and Yevgen Ryazanov of Weehawken close behind in 6th and 7th.

Further back, Jonathan Trela (8th, 23:31), James Davis (9th, 23:51), and Israel Davila (10th, 24:03) filled out a competitive top ten, all finishing within 32 seconds of each other. The 84°F heat and humidity made every second earned — and Elias's 6:22 pace in those conditions stands as the clear headline of the morning.