F75-79 Half Marathon: Rollins rules a tough morning for the 75-year-olds

• Nancy Rollins won the F75-79 group in 2:00:58 (9:14/mi), finishing nearly 40 minutes clear of the field.
• Tamerra Buckhanan took 2nd in 2:41:06, closing strongly — her best women's split came on the final 15K-to-finish stretch, where she moved from deep in the pack to finish 2nd in the group.
• Paula Scheiwe (3rd, 3:03:06) and Marjorie Conry (4th, 3:10:46) were separated by just over 7 minutes, with Conry actually gaining ground on the women's field across the final miles.
• All four women finished a 13.1-mile half marathon in Chicago's 72°F June heat — a feat in itself at 75.

Four women toed the line in the F75-79 age group on a warm Chicago morning, and Nancy Rollins made it look like a different race entirely. Running a 9:14/mi pace, she crossed in 2:00:58 — a full 40 minutes ahead of the next finisher. Her movement through the women's field told a nuanced story, though: she was as high as 371st among women at the 5K mark before gradually settling back to 566th by the finish, suggesting she went out with real purpose and held on through the heat and wind.

Tamerra Buckhanan ran the smartest race of the remaining three. Starting conservatively, she climbed steadily through the women's field all day — moving from outside the top 2,500 women early on to 2,328th by the finish. Her 15K-to-finish stretch was her best relative segment of the day, and she claimed 2nd in 2:41:06 at 12:17/mi.

Paula Scheiwe and Marjorie Conry both navigated a tough afternoon at the back of the age group. Scheiwe's strongest relative segment came between 5K and 8K, though she finished 3rd in 3:03:06. Conry, despite finishing last in 3:10:46 at 14:33/mi, was actually gaining on the broader women's field down the stretch — moving from 3,201st among women early to 3,042nd at the line. That's a finish earned the hard way, and worth noting.