M70-99 at Rio Del Lago 100: Jim Howard Goes the Distance

• Sole finisher in M70-99: Jim Howard, 71, completed all 100 miles in 23:59:22 — just 38 seconds inside the 24-hour mark.
• Pace: 14:24 per mile, sustained across a full century of Sierra Nevada foothills terrain.
• Strong mid-race split: Howard posted the 32nd-fastest split in the men's field on the Beals Point 2→Granite Beach 1 segment, a standout stretch in an otherwise measured effort.
• Steady climb through the men's field: He moved from 73rd among men at the first checkpoint all the way up to 40th by mid-race, before settling to 44th by the finish.

There is exactly one finisher in M70-99 at Rio Del Lago 2025, and that is all you need to know about how hard this age group is to crack: Jim Howard, 71 years old, from Applegate, California, ran 100 miles through the night and crossed the line in 23:59:22. Thirty-eight seconds. That is the cushion between Howard and the 24-hour wall, and he found it.

The race unfolded as a patient, methodical climb through the men's field. Howard was 73rd among men at the opening checkpoint, worked his way steadily forward, and reached his high-water mark of 40th around the midpoint of the race. The back half brought some natural fading — he finished 44th among men — but the trajectory tells the story of a runner who went out conservatively and raced with his head.

The one genuine flash of speed came on the Beals Point 2 to Granite Beach 1 segment, where Howard turned in the 32nd-fastest men's split on that stretch. In a 100-miler at 72°F, when legs are deep into their second wind and the night has already done its damage, that kind of relative pop on a named segment is worth noting.

One starter, one finisher, 23:59:22. Jim Howard owns M70-99 at Rio Del Lago 2025 outright — and given what it takes just to toe the line at this distance past 70, that is a result that speaks entirely for itself.