Chicago 13.1: Etta Garth Owns the F75-79 Field

• Sole finisher and champion: Etta Garth, 75, of Flossmoor, IL, crossed in 3:39:39 — a 16:45/mi average over 13.1 miles in genuine summer heat.
• Conditions were no joke: 79°F, 20 mph winds, and a humid Chicago morning made every mile a negotiation.
• 10K→15K split: Garth posted the 3,787th-fastest women's split on that segment — holding her own in a large women's field deep into the race.

There was only one woman racing in the F75-79 age group at Chicago 13.1, and she finished it: Etta Garth, 75 years old, from Flossmoor, Illinois. That's the whole story of the podium, and it's a good one. Garth covered 13.1 miles on a blustery, warm Sunday morning — 79°F, winds gusting to 20 mph, the kind of day that sends younger runners scrambling for excuses — and she got it done in 3:39:39.

At 16:45 per mile, Garth moved steadily through a women's field that numbered in the thousands. Her place among the women drifted gradually — 3,799th after the first checkpoint, 3,846th by the finish — a natural settling as the field spread out, not a fade. On the 10K-to-15K segment she registered the 3,787th-fastest women's split, which tells you she was running her own race at a consistent clip rather than losing ground through that middle stretch.

The win is uncontested, but don't let that diminish what it took. Finishing a half marathon at 75, in heat, into a 20 mph wind, is its own achievement. Etta Garth is the F75-79 champion at Chicago 13.1 — full stop.