Boilermaker 5K M70-74: Rybinski Rules in Utica

• Mark Rybinski (Manlius, NY) wins M70-74 in 24:43 — a 7:57/mi pace that put 26 seconds of clear air between him and the field.
• Gary Lashure (Barneveld, NY) runs 25:09 for 2nd; Kevin Obrien (Speculator, NY) completes the podium in 25:35.
• The top four finishers all broke 26:30, but a gap of more than a minute separates 4th-place James Billings (26:18) from 5th-place Greg Lavis (27:42).
• 56 men finished in M70-74, with times ranging from 24:43 to well past 33:49 across a field spread by over nine minutes at the top 20 alone.

On a clear July morning in Utica — 64°F but thick with 87% humidity — Mark Rybinski turned in the kind of performance that makes a result look easy when it absolutely wasn't. The 71-year-old from Manlius crossed in 24:43, running 7:57 per mile to claim the M70-74 title by 26 seconds over Gary Lashure. That margin is comfortable but not dominant — Lashure, 72, from nearby Barneveld, pushed the pace at 8:06/mi all the way to 25:09, keeping Rybinski honest to the finish line.

Kevin Obrien of Speculator, NY rounded out the podium in 25:35 (8:14/mi), just 26 seconds behind Lashure — meaning the top three were separated by exactly 52 seconds across the full 5K. James Billings (Syracuse, NY) was the final man under 26:30, finishing 4th in 26:18 at 8:28/mi. Then came a notable break: Greg Lavis (Buffalo, NY) crossed 5th in 27:42, more than a minute and twenty seconds adrift of Billings, signaling that the podium battle was its own race within a race.

From 6th onward, the field spread further but kept competing. Jay Noonan (Ellijay, GA) finished 6th in 28:20, while Alan Cohen (Oneida, NY) and Stan Dickson (Little Falls, NY) ran 29:41 and 29:49 respectively to claim 7th and 8th. A trio of men — Anthony Brigano, Anthony Murad, and Mike Green — each crossed between 30:30 and 30:35, making for one of the tightest three-way clusters in the entire M70-74 field. With 56 finishers total, this was a deep and competitive group, and every one of them earned their finish on a humid Utica morning.