M80+: Ken Schellenberg Owns San Francisco

• Sole finisher, outright winner: Ken Schellenberg, 83, crossed in 6:50:49 — the only man to toe the line and finish in the M80+ field.
• Steady through the hills: Schellenberg held a 15:40/mi average across 26.2 miles of San Francisco's notoriously rolling terrain in 59°F winds gusting to 15 mph.
• Still moving at mile 26: His men's field place tracked from 1,203rd at the first checkpoint all the way through the closing miles, finishing 5,013th among men — a consistent, methodical march to the finish.

There was one man bold enough to step up for the M80+ field at the 2026 San Francisco Marathon, and he got the job done. Ken Schellenberg, an 83-year-old from Squamish, BC, ran every one of San Francisco's 26.2 miles to claim the title outright, crossing in 6:50:49 at a 15:40/mi average. On a breezy July morning with 15 mph winds and 77% humidity rolling off the Bay, finishing is an achievement — doing it at 83 makes it something worth talking about.

Schellenberg's race unfolded with quiet determination. He moved through the men's field in the early miles — sitting 1,203rd at the first checkpoint — before the course's cumulative demands settled him into a steady rhythm around 5,000th among the men by the back half. That kind of measured pacing across a hilly urban course is exactly what gets an 83-year-old to the finish line, and it worked.

The M80+ winner's medal belongs to Schellenberg, earned the hard way: one mile at a time.