M45-49: Vincent Derocco Runs Away With It in Utica's Heat

• Vincent Derocco, 18:17 (5:53/mi) — wins M45-49 by a commanding 2:36 over 2nd place.
• Tightest battle of the day: Douglas Rozsa (26:54) and Scott Tiedemann (26:55) separated by just one second for 15th and 16th.
• Nick Zegarelli and Ryan Nash finished 10th (24:52) and 11th (24:53) — one second apart after 5 kilometers in 90% humidity.
• 123 finishers completed the M45-49 race on a muggy 75°F morning.

Vincent Derocco made this one a statement. The 45-year-old from Leesburg, VA crossed in 18:17 at a 5:53/mi clip — a pace that left the rest of M45-49 well in his wake. Runner-up Dayton Elseth, a local from Utica, finished in 20:53 (6:43/mi), meaning Derocco had already been done for two and a half minutes before Elseth hit the line. In a race where 90% humidity made every second feel harder, that margin is a genuine statement of dominance.

Third place went to Frank Derocco of Springfield, VA — finishing in 21:56 at 7:04/mi. The shared surname with the winner is hard to overlook, and two Deroccos on the M45-49 podium made for one of the more memorable family storylines in the field. Frank's 7:04/mi was a clear step back from Vincent's pace but still good enough to hold off Jim Laurey (22:59, 7:24/mi) and Tim Talbot (23:27, 7:33/mi), who rounded out a tight cluster for 4th and 5th.

The mid-pack produced its own drama. Zegarelli (24:52) and Nash (24:53) waged a one-second war for 10th and 11th across the full 5K course, while further back, Rozsa (26:54) and Tiedemann (26:55) were separated by a single tick of the clock for 15th and 16th — four runners, two pairs, each split by one second. In thick summer air, that kind of racing takes real grit. Ryan Miller closed out the top 20 in 27:31, with 103 more M45-49 runners behind him finishing what was, by any measure, a deep and competitive field.