M75-79: Jeff Morey Runs Away with It in Arlington

• Jeff Morey (Cornelius, NC) won M75-79 in 4:02:17 — a 9:14/mi pace that put nearly 30 minutes of daylight between him and 2nd place.
• James Taylor (Easton, MD) held 2nd in 4:32:10, edging Greg Taylor (Minneapolis, MN) by just over 7 minutes in 4:39:30 — the two Taylors occupying the podium's middle rungs.
• Angel Ramirez (Villahermosa) opened the race at the very front of the men's field before a long fade brought him home 4th in 5:02:59.
• 26 men finished in M75-79, with 20 recorded under the 7-hour limit and six more rounding out the field.

On a crisp 43°F morning past Washington's monuments, Jeff Morey turned in one of the most commanding performances of the day in M75-79. His 4:02:17 — averaging 9:14 per mile — wasn't just a win; it was a statement. The gap to runner-up James Taylor stretched to nearly 30 minutes, and Morey's movement through the men's field told the story of a controlled, deliberate race: he drifted back in the middle miles before reeling runners back in through the final stretch, posting the 2,592nd-fastest men's split on the 35K–40K segment as he kept his foot down late.

Behind him, James Taylor of Easton, MD ran a steady, progressive race — his gender position climbing consistently from the 6,201st spot early all the way to 5,449th at the finish, a sign of a runner who got stronger as others faded. He crossed in 4:32:10 (10:23/mi). Greg Taylor of Minneapolis mirrored that pattern even more dramatically, climbing from 7,009th among men at the early checkpoint all the way to 5,954th by the finish — his 4:39:30 (10:40/mi) good for 3rd.

The race's most dramatic arc belonged to Angel Ramirez of Villahermosa, who somehow opened at the very front of the entire men's field — a gender place of 1st through the first checkpoint — before the marathon's back half took its toll. A long, steady fade brought him home 4th in M75-79 with a 5:02:59 (11:33/mi). Ted Benjamin (Reston, VA) and Lonnie Beard (Phoenix, AZ) rounded out the top six in 5:10:17 and 5:11:22 respectively, separated by just 65 seconds after 26.2 miles on the People's Marathon course.