M75-79: Richardson Runs Away With It in San Francisco

• Jeffery Richardson, 77, wins the M75-79 field in 1:01:27 (9:53/mi), finishing nearly four minutes clear of the field.
• Koanjoong Kim takes 2nd in 1:05:16 (10:30/mi), more than nine minutes ahead of 3rd place.
• Robert Reichman and Laurence Arnold battle to a near-identical finish — 3rd in 1:14:21 and 4th in 1:14:53, separated by just 32 seconds across 6.2 miles.
• Six finishers completed the M75-79 race on a breezy San Francisco morning, with Broderick Grubb rounding out the field in 1:37:56 (15:46/mi).

Jeffery Richardson, 77, of Livermore made this one look straightforward. His 1:01:27 at a 9:53/mi clip was the class of the M75-79 field from the jump, and he kept building — moving up through the men's field over the back half, posting a strong second-half split to close it out. Four minutes is a commanding margin at any age; at 77, it's a statement.

Koanjoong Kim, also 75 and also from Livermore, claimed a clear 2nd in 1:05:16 (10:30/mi). Kim, too, gained ground over the second half, suggesting both Livermore men had plenty left in the tank when others began to feel the 15 mph wind off the Bay. The gap between Kim and 3rd place — over nine minutes — tells you the top two were in a different race from the rest of the field.

The real drama played out behind them. Robert Reichman (75, San Francisco) and Laurence Arnold (76, Hacienda Heights) were locked together through the first 5K, but the second half told a different story: Reichman held his pace while Arnold faded slightly, slipping back through the men's field on the closing stretch. Reichman crossed 3rd in 1:14:21; Arnold followed in 1:14:53. Thirty-two seconds after more than an hour of racing — close, but a genuine catch-up by Reichman in the end. M (Krish) Krishnamurthy (77, Irvine) finished 5th in 1:17:25 (12:28/mi), also losing a little ground over the second half, while Broderick Grubb (75, New Orleans) completed the course in 1:37:56 to round out a gutsy six-man M75-79 field.