Chicago Marathon M1-19: Lawrence Lin Wins a Wild Comeback

• Lawrence Lin (Peoria, age 19) claimed 1st in the M1-19 age group with one of the most dramatic late-race surges in the field.
• Bradley Altman (Park Ridge, age 19) ran the most consistent forward progression of any top finisher, climbing from deep in the pack to finish 2nd.
• Justin Matuszewski (Brighton, age 19) and Josh Mollway (Naperville, age 19) ran near the front early and held on for 3rd and 4th respectively, separated by the finest of margins at the line.
• 110 young men finished the M1-19 age group on a cool, damp Chicago morning — 58°F, light rain, and a 12 mph wind that made every mile honest.

Lawrence Lin's path to the M1-19 title was anything but straightforward. The 19-year-old from Peoria was sitting outside the top 9,500 among men at the halfway point, and still hadn't broken into the top 9,500 through 30K. Then something clicked. Between 30K and the finish, Lin stormed through the men's field to claim 1st in the age group — a finish that required threading through tens of thousands of runners in the race's final third. It was a back-half performance that defined his entire day.

Bradley Altman of Park Ridge told a remarkably similar story from an even deeper starting position. He was outside the top 19,000 among men at the 10K mark — essentially buried in the field — but chipped away methodically at every checkpoint: 10,096th, then 9,053rd, then 8,357th, then 7,662nd, before a thunderous final push landed him 2nd in the age group. The consistency of that climb, segment after segment, is what makes his run stand out.

The race's early movers were Justin Matuszewski and Josh Mollway, both 19, who ran in the top 1,300 among men from the gun. Matuszewski (Brighton) and Mollway (Naperville) were genuine front-runners through 25K before gradually yielding ground to the late chargers — finishing 3rd and 4th respectively. Noah Adams (Gibsonia) mirrored Lin and Altman's late-race pattern, climbing from outside the top 11,000 at 10K all the way to 5th in the age group by the finish. Behind the top five, David and Scott Creger of Geneva — two runners sharing a hometown and a finish list — rounded out the top seven at 6th and 7th.