M75-79: Tom Kim Wins a Hard-Fought Half in the Heat

• Tom Kim took the M75-79 title in 2:20:10 (10:42/mi), finishing more than 8 minutes clear of runner-up Donald Jensen.
• Jensen (2:28:48) held 2nd comfortably, with a nearly 19-minute gap separating him from 3rd-place Randolph Johnston (2:47:11).
• All four finishers were age 75, making this one of the tightest age bands imaginable — four men, same year of birth, grinding through 79°F heat and a 20 mph wind.
• Sivaguru Mannangatti rounded out the group in 2:59:28, the only finisher to cross the 13.1-mile mark beyond the three-hour mark.

---

Four men, all 75, lined up in Chicago on a punishing June morning — nearly 80 degrees, low humidity, and a 20 mph wind that would have made every straightaway feel like a wall. In a field this small, every place mattered, and Tom Kim made his count from the start.

Kim was the steadiest mover of the group, climbing through the men's field across every checkpoint and closing especially hard over the final stretch from 15K to the finish — his 15K→Finish split ranked among the stronger closers in the broader race. He crossed in 2:20:10, averaging 10:42 per mile, a controlled and confident performance given the conditions.

Donald Jensen ran a solid second, finishing in 2:28:48 at 11:21/mi. He never seriously threatened Kim's lead but was equally consistent in his pacing, maintaining his position through the checkpoints without fading. Behind him, Randolph Johnston (2:47:11, 12:45/mi) and Sivaguru Mannangatti (2:59:28, 13:41/mi) completed the group, both showing admirable resolve in difficult conditions — Johnston finishing just under the three-hour mark, Mannangatti just over it.

Four finishers in M75-79 is a small but remarkable group. On a day when the weather tested runners of every age, these four septuagenarians covered 13.1 miles through Chicago's summer heat. Kim earned the win cleanly; the rest earned the finish.