M75-79: Jin Taik Chung Leads a Los Angeles Sweep at Long Beach

• Jin Taik Chung, 78, wins in 5:03:42 (11:35/mi), finishing more than 16 minutes clear of the field.
• Young Chon Chun takes 2nd in 5:20:09; Dong Choe 3rd in 5:29:52 — all three from the greater LA area.
• Ronald Grusd, 79, completes his marathon in 6:45:15 (15:27/mi) to round out a four-man M75-79 field.

Jin Taik Chung put on a clinic in patient, progressive racing. He entered the back half of the marathon climbing steadily through the men's field — moving from 2,743rd among men at the 5.5M mark all the way to 2,322nd by the finish, gaining more than 400 places while others faded in Long Beach's warm, humid conditions. His 11:35/mi average held firm across 26.2 miles, and the result was a commanding M75-79 win at age 78.

Young Chon Chun, 76, had the stronger early legs — his 5.5M→13.1M split ranked among the faster efforts in the men's field at that stage — but the second half told a different story. His men's field position slipped from 2,243rd to 2,575th between the opening miles and the finish, a gradual fade that cost him ground. He still crossed in 5:20:09, a solid 2nd-place effort, with Dong Choe, 77, of Cerritos finishing 3rd in 5:29:52. Choe actually ran one of his better segments late, posting the 2,138th-fastest men's split on the 20M-to-finish stretch and climbing from 3,331st to 2,698th in the men's field over the course of the race.

Ronald Grusd, 79 and representing Sherman Oaks, was steady if measured throughout — his men's field position barely shifted across all four checkpoints, moving from 3,381st to 3,266th. He finished in 6:45:15 at 15:27/mi, completing the marathon and giving the M75-79 group a full complement of four finishers on a warm October morning in Long Beach.