M45-49: Aaron Price Runs Away With It in Boston's June Heat

• Aaron Price, 45, wins the M45-49 age group in 35:02 — a 5:38/mi clip that left the field well behind on a warm, breezy Boston morning.
• The gap at the top was decisive: Eric Funk took 2nd in 37:44, a full 2 minutes and 42 seconds back, with Ruben Juanes 3rd in 38:48.
• Pete Isberg was the biggest mover in the closing stretch, climbing from 152nd to 123rd among the men on the 5K–8K segment before finishing 4th in 39:28.
• 222 men aged 45–49 finished, with a spread of over 8 minutes across the top 10 alone.

With 77°F temperatures, scattered clouds, and a 12 mph wind rolling through Boston, the M45-49 age group got a true test of mid-summer fitness — and Aaron Price answered it emphatically. The Brookline native crossed in 35:02, averaging 5:38 per mile, and his split progression told the story of a controlled, confident race: he moved from 62nd to 52nd among the men over the course of the race, closing with the 43rd-fastest split in the men's field on the 8K-to-finish stretch. That late surge is what separates a winner from a front-runner.

Eric Funk of East Boston held steady throughout, moving from 88th to 86th among the men and finishing 2nd in 37:44 at a 6:04/mi pace — a solid, consistent effort. Ruben Juanes of Cambridge was 3rd in 38:48, also picking up places on the back half to round out a podium that spanned nearly four minutes from top to bottom.

The race for 4th and 5th had some real movement. Pete Isberg (Wellesley) made his presence felt on the middle segment, surging from 152nd to 123rd among the men between 5K and 8K before finishing 4th in 39:28. Kevin Hill of Newton held on for 5th in 39:49, with Lixin Qin (Belmont) just behind in 6th at 40:05 — only 16 seconds separating those two across the line. Further back, Masilo Grant (7th, 41:33) and William Flannigan (8th, 41:40) were separated by just seven seconds, making that the tightest head-to-head battle in the top ten.