B.A.A. 10K F65-69: O'Donnell Runs Away With It

• Mj O'Donnell won the F65-69 age group in 53:18 (8:35/mi) — more than 5½ minutes clear of runner-up Jean Philip (58:54).
• Jean Philip made up significant ground in the final stretch, climbing from 837th to 679th among all women between the 5K and finish to lock up 2nd in 58:54.
• Judith Donnelly and Sinthy Kounlasa ran nearly identical paces to claim 3rd (59:43, 9:37/mi) and 4th (1:00:48, 9:47/mi), separated by just over a minute.
• 16th and 17th place — Andrea Wolley and Jean Thuma — finished in the exact same displayed time of 1:20:42, with Wolley edging ahead by the slimmest of margins.

Mj O'Donnell, 67, from Wellesley, put on a commanding performance in the 77°F Boston heat, crossing in 53:18 at an 8:35/mi clip — a pace that would be swift in any conditions, let alone a warm June morning. She entered the 5K–8K segment already well-placed among the women's field and never let up, finishing as the clear and unchallenged winner of the F65-69 age group by a margin that made this one feel decided early.

Behind her, the race for the podium had more drama. Jean Philip, 67, of Boston, had a slow opening half — sitting 837th among women at the 5K mark — but flipped a switch in the back half, surging to 679th by the finish to claim 2nd in 58:54. Judith Donnelly, 65, of Wellesley, held a steadier line throughout, finishing 3rd in 59:43, with Sinthy Kounlasa (4th, 1:00:48) and Debbie Capasso (5th, 1:01:14) rounding out a tight top five all clustered within about eight minutes of each other.

Further back, Christine Morris took 6th in 1:02:39, and then a small gap opened before Janet Healy (7th, 1:06:11) and Elizabeth Hastings (8th, 1:06:13) arrived almost simultaneously — just two seconds apart after 6.2 miles. The field of 29 spread across a wide range of finishing times, with Denise Lyddy completing the listed finishers in 20th at 1:29:14, nine more athletes finishing behind her to complete the age group.