Broken Arrow 18K M60-69: Williamson Dominates from Hope, Alaska
- Lance Williamson won the M60-69 field in 2:21:52 (12:41/mi), finishing more than 26 minutes clear of runner-up Thomas Koundakjian.
- Places 3–5 were separated by just 17 seconds: Don Chernich (2:53:37), Michael Creech (2:53:43), and Frederick Roth (2:53:54).
- The field of 12 spanned nearly 3 hours 5 minutes from first to last, with Robert Chacon's 3:53:17 marking a clear break from the top seven.
Lance Williamson made the trip down from Hope, Alaska count. His 2:21:52 wasn't just a win — it was a statement, nearly a half-marathon worth of time ahead of the rest of the M60-69 field at 67 years old. Running a 12:41-per-mile average across a course that climbs between roughly 6,200 and 8,000 feet, with 17 mph winds and desert-dry air at 19% humidity, Williamson held his men's field position steadily through the race, even ticking up a spot on the second half. There was no drama at the front — he simply ran away from everyone else and never looked back.
The real theater unfolded in the battle for third. Chernich, Creech, and Roth — three Bay Area and Sacramento runners — crossed within 17 seconds of each other after more than two and a half hours of racing. Creech actually held the edge on Chernich through the Snow King to KT 22 segment, but Chernich pulled clear by the finish, edging him by six seconds. Roth, meanwhile, was just 11 seconds further back in fifth. At 15:31 to 15:33 per mile, those three were essentially running shoulder-to-shoulder for the better part of the course.
Thomas Koundakjian (Reno, NV) slotted comfortably into second at 2:47:50, holding a steady if slightly fading line through the back half. Behind the top seven, the field spread out considerably — Robert Chacon's 3:53:17 opened a gap of nearly an hour to Williamson, and the final four finishers stretched the leaderboard all the way to Paul Levy's gutsy 5:26:27. Every one of the 12 starters finished, which at this altitude and in these conditions is its own kind of achievement.
AI recap · generated from official results