Kaua'i Half Marathon M65-69: Biggar Runs Away with It

• Brent Biggar won the M65-69 group in 1:44:21 (7:58/mi) — more than seven minutes clear of second place.
• The battle for 2nd was razor-thin: Daniel Manoogian (1:51:35) edged Rodney Wong (1:51:56) by just 21 seconds, with Wong actually running a stronger final stretch to close the gap.
• 29 men finished in the M65-69 group, spread across a range of nearly 1:25:00 from first to 20th place alone.
• Local Hawaii runners were well represented: Hanalei's Manoogian, Princeville's Wong and Streich, Koloa's Barwick, and Lihue's Andrew Martin and Dennis Chan all toed the line.

In warm, humid conditions — 77°F with 69% humidity along Kauai's south shore — Brent Biggar of Wenatchee, WA put on a commanding performance. His 7:58/mi average was the pace of a man in control from the outset, and the gap he built was never seriously threatened. By the midpoint checkpoint he was already pulling away from the men's field broadly, and he never looked back.

The real drama in M65-69 unfolded behind him. Daniel Manoogian, racing on home turf out of Hanalei, held off Rodney Wong of Mission Viejo, CA by 21 seconds for the silver spot. What makes it interesting is the trajectory: Wong was running a faster final segment — posting the 79th-fastest split in the field on the HALF→11.05 Mile stretch compared to Manoogian's 87th — and was climbing through the men's standings in the closing miles. He got close, but Manoogian's cushion proved just enough.

John Streich (2:04:37), another Princeville local, ran a solid fourth and showed a strong finish, posting the 141st-fastest split in the field on the 11.05 Mile→Finish leg. Jon Barwick of Koloa rounded out the top five at 2:10:23. From there, the field spread out considerably — Steve Martin (2:17:43) through the 20th finisher Dennis Chan (3:09:01) covering more than 50 minutes of racing time, a testament to the challenge this course and climate pose for anyone over 65 pushing 13+ miles along the Poipu coast.