M65-69 Half Marathon: Krause dominates as Cleveland's heat tests every stride

• David Krause (67, Strongsville) won the M65-69 group in 1:35:15 — a 7:16/mi pace that put more than 3 minutes of clear air between him and 2nd place.
• Dave Berardi ran a strong negative-style middle stretch, climbing from 188th to 160th among men between 5K and 12.6 miles, to lock up 2nd in 1:38:27.
• Rich Oldrieve and Howard Meyerson staged the tightest battle on the podium's edge — separated by just 1:27 at the line (1:50:45 vs. 1:52:12), with Oldrieve also surging from 541st to 442nd among men through the middle miles.
• Pete West and Ken Palmquist finished 7th and 8th in 1:58:22 and 1:58:24 respectively — just two seconds apart across 13.1 miles in 75°F heat.

David Krause made this one look almost comfortable. Running 7:16 per mile through Cleveland's humid, warm morning — 75°F with 68% humidity — the 67-year-old from Strongsville built his lead methodically and never let it slip. His 3-minute-plus margin over Berardi is the kind of gap that says the race for first was decided well before the finish line.

Dave Berardi was the story of the chase pack. The 65-year-old from Gwynn Oak made his move in the back half, surging from 188th to 160th among men between 5K and 12.6 miles before settling to 164th at the finish in 1:38:27. He ran his own race and earned 2nd decisively.

Behind Berardi, the real drama unfolded between Rich Oldrieve and Howard Meyerson. Both men were moving through the field in the middle miles — Oldrieve climbing from 541st to 442nd among men, Meyerson from 602nd to 482nd — but Oldrieve's surge carried him to 3rd in 1:50:45, holding off Meyerson's 1:52:12 by a minute and a half. Scott Freeman (1:52:54) rounded out the top five, just 42 seconds further back.

Further down the leaderboard, Pete West and Ken Palmquist ran nearly identical races — 1:58:22 and 1:58:24 — to finish 7th and 8th. Two seconds over 13.1 miles on a warm Cleveland morning is about as close as it gets without sharing a place. Forty-one men aged 65–69 crossed the line in total, a testament to a group that clearly doesn't slow down easily.