Chicago 13.1 Half Marathon: Tamerra Buckhanan Owns the F75-79 Field

• Sole finisher and champion: Tamerra Buckhanan, 75, of Flossmoor, IL, crossed in 2:45:50 at a 12:39/mi average pace.
• Steady climber: Buckhanan moved from 1,580th to 1,461st among women across the race's checkpoints — a gain of 119 places in the women's field.
• Strong closing stretch: She posted the 1,365th-fastest women's split on the 15K-to-finish segment, a respectable push through the final miles.

Tamerra Buckhanan was the only competitor to toe the line in the F75-79 age group at Chicago 13.1, and she made it count. The 75-year-old from Flossmoor, IL, covered the 13.1 miles in 2:45:50 — a 12:39-per-mile pace — on a warm June morning with temperatures at 74°F and a 12 mph wind adding resistance to every stride.

What makes Buckhanan's run worth examining beyond the win is the arc of her race. She entered the women's field ranked 1,580th early on and steadily worked her way forward, arriving at the finish as 1,461st among women — a climb of nearly 120 places. That kind of sustained forward momentum over a half marathon distance, in June heat, speaks to a well-managed effort from start to line.

The final push from 15K to the finish was where she kept the needle moving, logging the 1,365th-fastest closing split among all women in the field. For a solo age-group competitor with no one to chase or hold off, maintaining that drive to the end is its own quiet achievement. Buckhanan takes the F75-79 title — uncontested, and entirely earned.