M80+ at the Boilermaker 5K: Malecki Runs Away With It

• Robert Malecki, 82, wins in 34:14 — a full 7:11 ahead of 2nd place, at 11:01/mi.
• Tightest battle of the day: Richard Sargent (3rd, 42:43) and John Molinaro (4th, 42:47) separated by just four seconds.
• Five finishers, ages 81–84, completed the 5K on a warm 84°F Utica morning.
• Peter Ruben, 84, closed out the field in 51:56 — the oldest competitor in the group.

Robert Malecki made the M80+ race his own from the word go. The 82-year-old Utica native crossed in 34:14 at an 11:01/mi clip — a pace more than two and a half minutes per mile faster than anyone else in the field. His margin of victory over David Cook was 7:11, which in a 5K is not a gap, it's a statement. Cook, 81, made the trip from Lyme, CT and finished a solid 2nd in 41:25 (13:20/mi), well clear of the battle brewing just behind him.

That battle — for 3rd — was the subplot worth watching. Richard Sargent of Syracuse and John Molinaro of Augusta, GA, both 81, ran essentially the same race: Sargent crossed in 42:43 (13:45/mi), Molinaro four seconds later in 42:47 (13:46/mi). Four seconds over 3.1 miles on a warm summer morning, between two 81-year-olds — that's a genuine race within a race, and Sargent held on to claim the final podium spot by the slimmest of margins.

Rounding out the field was Peter Ruben, 84, of Holland Patent, NY — the eldest of the five — who finished in 51:56 at 16:43/mi. With the mercury at 84°F and humidity in the mix, simply getting to the finish line in this age group deserves its own recognition. Five men, all in their ninth decade, racing a 5K in July. Malecki took the win decisively, but every one of them earned their result.