Boilermaker 5K M65-69: Royce Runs Away With It in the Utica Heat

• Rick Royce, 66, Kingston, ON — took the M65-69 title in 24:34 (7:54/mi), a full eight seconds clear of the runner-up.
• Tightest battle of the day: Patrick Henry (2nd, 24:42) and Robert Sullivan (3rd, 25:06) were separated by just 24 seconds, with Gregory Evans (4th, 25:32) another 26 back — four men within 58 seconds at the sharp end.
• Big gap to fifth: Patrick Distaffen (5th, 27:26) crossed nearly two minutes behind Evans, marking a clear break between the top four and the rest of the 87-man field.
• Steady mid-pack: Dave Young (6th, 28:08), Bill Halpin (7th, 28:14), and Dave Talarico (8th, 28:26) bunched within 18 seconds of each other, while John Dodge (10th, 28:54) and James Carey (11th, 29:02) kept the cluster alive deep into the standings.

With 75°F temperatures and 90% humidity pressing down on Utica, Rick Royce made it look controlled. The Kingston, ON runner held a 7:54/mi average through the full 5K — the fastest pace in the M65-69 field — and crossed in 24:34 to claim the title outright. Burlington's Patrick Henry gave chase, finishing in 24:42 at 7:57/mi, but Royce's lead was never seriously threatened. Eight seconds is a clean margin, not a photo finish.

Behind Henry, Frankfort's Robert Sullivan ran a solid 25:06 (8:05/mi) to lock up third, and Clinton's Gregory Evans rounded out the podium in 25:32 (8:13/mi). Those four men formed a genuine front pack separated by less than a minute — a compelling race-within-a-race in a thick, humid morning that had everyone working harder than the clock suggests.

From sixth place onward, the field settled into tight groupings: Young (28:08), Halpin (28:14), and Talarico (28:26) finished within 18 seconds of each other, and the 9:00–9:30/mi corridor was crowded all the way through 14th-place Kevin Obrien (29:17). Jay Noonan (12th, 29:06), making the trip from Ellijay, GA, and Casey Scott (17th, 31:31), in from Sacramento, CA, were among those who traveled far to race hard in the Utica heat — and both delivered.