M25-29: Kiprop Takes the Age Group in a 1:01 Stunner

• Patrick Kiprop wins M25-29 in 1:01:18 (4:41/mi), holding 2nd among men for most of the race before finishing 3rd among men at the line.
• Peter Njeru was just 23 seconds back in 2nd, running 1:01:41 at 4:42/mi — the closest battle on the podium.
• Reed Fischer climbed from 8th to 4th among men by the 5K–8K stretch, posting the 2nd-fastest split among men on that segment, before settling into 3rd in M25-29 at 1:02:40.
• Haftu Knight went the other direction — sitting 4th among men early, he slipped to 7th by mid-race but clawed back to 6th among men at the finish, clocking 1:02:46.

Patrick Kiprop ran a composed, front-loaded race in perfect Chicago conditions — 60°F and clear — holding 2nd among men from the gun through the 8K mark. His 4:41/mi average over 13.1 miles is a genuinely elite number, and his 1:01:18 gives him the M25-29 title by 23 seconds over Peter Njeru. That gap sounds comfortable, but Njeru matched him nearly stride for stride at 4:42/mi — this was a two-man breakaway from the rest of the age group, with third place Reed Fischer arriving a full minute later.

Fischer was the race's most compelling mover in M25-29. Starting 8th among men, he posted the 2nd-fastest men's split between 5K and 8K and had surged to 4th among men by that checkpoint. He couldn't quite sustain the charge to close the gap on Kiprop and Njeru, but 1:02:40 and 3rd in the age group is a strong result. Haftu Knight's race told the inverse story — quick out of Austin early, sitting 4th among men, he faded through the middle miles before a late-race recovery on the 15K-to-finish stretch (4th-fastest men's split on that segment) salvaged 4th in M25-29 at 1:02:46, just six seconds behind Fischer.

Adam Moore rounded out the top five in 1:05:20, a clear step back from the lead pack but well clear of William Cadwell (6th, 1:06:57) and the rest of a 969-runner age group that stretched deep into the afternoon. The top four all broke 1:03 — a tight, fast cluster at the front of one of the largest age groups on the course.