Long Beach Marathon F75-79: Houda Leads Wire to Wire

• Miyoko Houda won the F75-79 race in 5:32:24 (12:41/mi), the only finisher in this two-woman field to break six hours.
• Tina Kim completed the full 26.2 miles in 6:24:37 (14:40/mi) — a finish that speaks for itself at 76 years old.
• The margin between them: 52 minutes 13 seconds.

Two 76-year-olds lined up in Long Beach on a warm October morning — 72°F, humid, and breezy — and both crossed the finish line. In a field of exactly two, that shared resolve is the headline before a single split is examined.

Miyoko Houda set the tone early and never relinquished it. Running at a 12:41/mi average, she moved steadily through the women's field in the opening miles before the mid-race heat began to push her back through the standings — her gender place drifted from 784th to 928th by the finish, a reflection of the conditions and the course more than any fade. She held her pace well enough to close in 5:32:24, a commanding performance in this two-woman contest.

Tina Kim ran her own race from the gun. Her gender standing climbed late — moving from 1,220th back up to 1,160th between the 20-mile mark and the finish, meaning she found something in those final miles when many around her were slowing. Her closing split was the 1,054th-fastest among all women from 20 miles to the finish, a sign that she was still working hard when it counted. She crossed in 6:24:37, at 14:40/mi, to complete the marathon.

At 76, finishing a marathon in the California heat is the whole story. Houda takes the F75-79 title; Kim earns the satisfaction of seeing it through to the end.