M80+ Marathon: Burgasser Claims the Age-Group Title in Sacramento

• Joseph Burgasser, 81, won the M80+ age group in 4:29:02 (10:16/mi), the only finisher to break five hours.
• Tom Adamson, 81, completed the marathon in 5:37:00 (12:51/mi), finishing 2nd in M80+ — 1:07:58 behind the winner.
• Two 81-year-olds made up the entire M80+ field on a cool, wet Sacramento morning — and both finished a full 26.2 miles.

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Just two men lined up in the M80+ age group at the 2019 California International Marathon, and both of them were 81 years old. That alone is worth pausing on. On a damp December morning — 56°F, light rain, 9 mph wind — Joseph Burgasser of St. Petersburg, Florida, and Tom Adamson of Fair Oaks, California, set out to cover every inch of the course.

Burgasser was the stronger runner from the gun and only got stronger as the miles wore on. His position among the men's field tells the story clearly: he was moving steadily forward through the second half of the race, climbing from around 3,500th place among men at the early checkpoints all the way to 3,080th by the finish. That consistent forward momentum translated into a winning time of 4:29:02 — a 10:16-per-mile pace held across the full marathon distance in genuinely challenging conditions.

Adamson's race told a different story. The Fair Oaks local held steady through the early going but gradually ceded ground in the men's field as the miles accumulated, finishing in 5:37:00 at 12:51 per mile. The gap between the two men — nearly 68 minutes — reflects two very different days on the road, but finishing a marathon at 81 in any conditions is its own achievement. Adamson crossed the line 2nd in M80+ and earned that result.

Together, Burgasser and Adamson were the entirety of the M80+ field at CIM 2019 — and they both got it done.