M75-79: Severino Claims Chicago 13.1 with a Sub-2:22 Effort

• Antonio Severino won the M75-79 group in 2:21:59 (10:50/mi), finishing nearly 8 minutes clear of second place.
• Tom Kim ran the strongest middle stretch of the three, climbing steadily through the men's field from 8K onward to take 2nd in 2:29:57 (11:26/mi).
• Randolph Johnston rounded out the group in 3:02:07 — the only finisher to break the three-hour barrier from the other side, finishing 32+ minutes back of Kim.

Just three men lined up in the M75-79 group at Chicago 13.1, but the race had a clear story: Antonio Severino, 75, from Willowbrook, set the pace from the start and never relinquished it. His 10:50/mi average translated to a 2:21:59 finish — a composed, controlled effort that left no doubt about who owned this group on a pleasant 60°F morning in Chicago.

Behind him, Tom Kim of Des Plaines made the most interesting move of the race. Kim's strongest segment came between 8K and 10K, where he posted the most competitive split of any M75-79 runner on that stretch. More tellingly, his position among the men's field improved steadily from that point forward — climbing from well outside the top 4,400 at 8K all the way to 4,007 at the finish. That kind of progressive negative-split momentum is a real achievement at any age.

Randolph Johnston, representing Chicago itself, had a tougher afternoon. He tracked near the back of the men's field throughout and crossed in 3:02:07 at a 13:54/mi pace — a solid effort to finish a half marathon at 75, even if the gap to Kim stretched to over 32 minutes. His final segment, from 15K to the finish, showed a slight recovery in his field position, suggesting he found something in the closing miles.

Three finishers, three stories — but Severino's wire-to-wire command of the M75-79 group was the headline all morning.