M60-69 Marathon: Miller Leads a Deep Field Through Wine Country

• Markham Miller, 60, wins M60-69 in 3:33:32 (8:09/mi), the only finisher in the group to break 3:35.
• Tight podium battle: Patrick McLarnon (3:36:24) and Timothy Kennedy (3:36:57) were separated by just 33 seconds for 2nd and 3rd — but McLarnon ran the stronger back half, while Kennedy faded slightly in the men's field after the midpoint.
• Best second-half surge: Richie Wong climbed from 351st to 305th among men in the 13.1M-to-finish stretch, running the 283rd-fastest split on that segment — the best positional gain of anyone in the top five.
• 51 finishers completed the M60-69 marathon on a cool, clear morning in Sonoma County, with humidity sitting at 91%.

Markham Miller of Daly City made his case decisively from the gun. Running 8:09 per mile across 26.2 miles on a flat, fast course, the 60-year-old moved from 336th to 261st among men in the back half — posting the 210th-fastest second-half split in the men's field — and finished nearly three minutes clear of anyone else in his cohort. On a Boston Qualifier course where every second counts, that margin was as clean as it gets.

Behind Miller, the race for silver and bronze was a genuine contest. McLarnon (3:36:24) and Kennedy (3:36:57) ran together through the first half but diverged after the midpoint: McLarnon advanced from 311th to 278th among men, while Kennedy slipped from 278th to 281st — a small fade that cost him second place by 33 seconds. Kenny Crampton (4th, 3:40:47) and Richie Wong (5th, 3:42:24) rounded out the top five, with Wong's late charge — gaining 46 spots in the men's field over the final 13.1 miles — the most aggressive move of the bunch.

The field beyond the top five showed real depth. Jeffrey Carr (6th, 3:45:46), Tad Theiss (7th, 3:46:56), and Ying Li (8th, 3:47:05) were separated by just 69 seconds, while Jonathan Mayes (9th, 3:48:00) and Charles Chen (10th, 3:49:31) kept the pack tight through the top ten. With 51 men finishing across the M60-69 field on a cool, humid August morning in Sonoma County, the competition was genuine from front to back.