Shamrock Half Marathon M65-69: Higgins dominates in the Virginia Beach heat

• Kevin Higgins won the M65-69 group in 1:33:51 (7:10/mi), finishing more than 12 minutes clear of second place — the widest gap on the podium.
• Thomas Burke took 2nd in 1:46:04, while Tom Robinson and Richard Rice were separated by just 1:12 for 3rd and 4th.
• Richard Rice was the group's biggest mover, climbing from deep in the men's field early on to finish 4th — his trajectory showed one of the strongest second-half surges among the top finishers.
• Chris Tapia ran the opposite arc, sitting 5th early but fading through the back half to finish 5th in 1:52:24 — still inside the top ten of a 61-runner field.

Sixty-one men aged 65–69 toed the line in Virginia Beach on a genuinely tough morning — 71°F, 73% humidity, and a 17 mph wind off the coast. Those are conditions that punish anyone who goes out too hard, and the race results tell that story clearly.

Kevin Higgins, 65, from Randolph, NJ, was in a category of his own. Running 7:10 per mile, he moved steadily through the men's field across every checkpoint — from 219th among men at the first split all the way up to 169th by 15K before settling at 172nd at the line. That consistent forward momentum is the hallmark of a controlled, confident effort, and his 1:33:51 stands more than twelve minutes ahead of anyone else in the M65-69 group.

Behind him, the battle for the podium was far more dramatic. Thomas Burke held 2nd in 1:46:04, but the real tussle was for 3rd. Tom Robinson came in at 1:49:42 and Richard Rice at 1:50:54 — just 72 seconds between them. Rice was the more aggressive racer, starting conservatively (906th among men through the opening segment) and grinding forward all the way to the finish. Robinson held steadier throughout but couldn't shake Rice entirely.

Chris Tapia's race was a cautionary tale for the conditions. He was 5th in the men's field through 5K but faded to 648th by the finish, crossing in 1:52:24. On a cooler day, that early pace might have held. In Virginia Beach's heat and wind, it cost him a podium spot.