M40-44: Martinez Defends Home Turf in Chicago's Heat

• Juan Martinez won the M40-44 group in 1:34:58 (7:15/mi), posting the fastest men's split on the 5K→8K segment and moving from 3rd to 2nd among men by the first checkpoint.
• Brandon Finch finished 2nd in 1:42:20 — a 7:29-minute gap back — with the 4th-fastest men's split on that same early segment.
• Cynthia Kmak ran 1:49:51 for 4th, matching her time here to the second from 2023, when she placed 6th — same clock, better result.
• Gerald Amlih completed the course in 3:05:04, more than an hour back of the winner, finishing 28th among men at the line.

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Juan Martinez came back to Chicago and nearly replicated his 2023 performance — he ran 1:34:58 this year against 1:34:53 a year ago, a five-second difference across 365 days on the same course. In 2023 he stood on the third step of the M40-44 podium; in 2024, on a sweltering 79°F morning with 20 mph winds, he climbed to the top. The decisive move came early: Martinez posted the fastest men's split on the 5K-to-8K stretch, surging from 3rd to 2nd among men and never relinquishing that position through the finish. At 7:15 per mile across 13.1 miles in those conditions, it was a performance that earned the win cleanly.

Brandon Finch gave chase but couldn't close the gap that opened in those middle miles. His 1:42:20 — a 7:48/mi effort — placed him 4th among men at the finish and 2nd in the M40-44 group, with the 4th-fastest men's split on the 5K→8K to his credit. Robert John Madriaga of Belleville, WI rounded out the podium in 1:48:31, running 8:17 per mile through the heat.

The quiet subplot belongs to Cynthia Kmak. She crossed in 1:49:51 — identical, to the second, to her 2023 time on this course — yet moved from 6th to 4th in the M40-44 group. She also posted the 5th-fastest men's split on the second half of the race, suggesting she saved something for the back end. Gerald Amlih brought it home in 3:05:04 to complete a five-finisher M40-44 field on a genuinely tough morning.