M70-74: Guerin Takes the Age Group in Kaua'i's Heat

• Tom Guerin won the M70-74 group in 4:49:01 (11:01/mi), finishing 45 minutes 44 seconds ahead of the only other finisher.
• Arden Swanson completed the marathon in 5:34:45 (12:46/mi) — a solid finish in warm, humid conditions for a 72-year-old covering 26.2 miles.
• Guerin's closing leg (24.15 miles to the finish) was the 49th-fastest split in the men's field on that segment — a strong finish push late in the race.

In a two-man M70-74 field on the sun-soaked roads of Poipu, Tom Guerin of Kihei, HI controlled this race from start to finish. Running at 11:01 per mile across 26.2 miles in 77°F heat with 69% humidity, Guerin posted a 4:49:01 that was never seriously threatened. His gender place actually improved over the final stretch — moving from 123rd among the men at one checkpoint up to 105th by the finish — a sign he was running people down, not fading, in the back half.

Arden Swanson of Oak Park, IL showed the kind of grit it takes to finish a marathon at 72 in these conditions. His 5:34:45 at 12:46 per mile tells the story of a man who managed the heat and the miles and got to the line — which, on a day like this, is no small thing. Swanson held his position steadily among the men's field through the middle miles before a slight drift in the final segments, finishing 148th among the men.

With only two athletes contesting the M70-74 group, the numbers are small but the effort is anything but. Guerin and Swanson represent a rare breed willing to toe the line at a demanding Hawaiian marathon — and both of them made it count.