B.A.A. 10K M45-49: Maloney Holds Off Campiz in a Scorching Boston Showdown

• Justin Maloney (46, Somerville) won M45-49 in 36:05 — a 5:48/mi clip through 93°F heat.
• Six seconds separated 1st from 2nd; the top five were all inside 37:11.
• Craig Brisebois was the group's strongest finisher, posting the 75th-fastest split in the field from 8K to the finish — the best closing segment among the top five.
• A field of 280 in M45-49 made this one of the race's deeper age groups.

Boston handed everyone 93°F and a 15 mph wind on Sunday, and the M45-49 group answered with some of the sharpest racing of the morning. Justin Maloney of Somerville ran a composed 5:48/mi to claim the age-group title in 36:05, but he had to earn it — Jamaica, NY's Gustavo Campiz (49 years old, notably the eldest in the top five) pushed him the entire way and crossed just six seconds back in 36:11. Orlando Quichimbo (36:51) rounded out the podium, another 40 seconds in arrears, with Craig Brisebois and Larry Aller completing a tight top five, all five men finishing within 1:06 of each other.

The most compelling subplot belonged to Brisebois. He was sitting 4th at 5K and hadn't moved much by 8K, but he unleashed the strongest closing kick among the top five — the 75th-fastest 8K-to-finish split in the entire field — to hold 4th and apply late pressure on Quichimbo. Aller, meanwhile, was steadily working his way forward through the middle of the race, cracking the top 5 by 8K and holding on through the heat to finish 5th in 37:11.

Behind the podium, the battle for the 6-through-10 spots was its own race, with Michael Schmitz II (38:46), Brendan Collins (38:56), Michael Prendergast (39:04), José Carvalho (39:14), and Jason Hamner (39:27) all finishing within 41 seconds of one another. In conditions that punished anyone who went out too hard, running a 6:14–6:21/mi range through that heat represented genuine discipline. With 280 finishers in the age group, the M45-49 field proved it had plenty of depth to go with its headline drama.