M75-79: Severino Claims Chicago 13.1 in a Three-Man Battle

• Antonio Severino won the M75-79 group in 2:21:59 (10:50/mi), finishing nearly 8 minutes clear of second place.
• Tom Kim ran 2:29:57 (11:26/mi) for second, his strongest stretch coming on the 8K–10K segment where he climbed steadily through the men's field.
• Randolph Johnston completed the trio in 3:02:07 (13:54/mi), finishing over 32 minutes behind Severino.
• All three finishers were 75 years old — a remarkably tight age cluster at the top of the M75-79 group.

Only three runners toed the line in the M75-79 group on a pleasant Chicago morning — 60°F, clear skies, a light 10 mph breeze — but the race still had a genuine story to tell. Antonio Severino of Willowbrook set the tone early and never surrendered it, crossing in 2:21:59 at a steady 10:50 per mile. That's a serious half marathon at any age, let alone 75.

Tom Kim of Des Plaines was the most interesting mover of the day. He spent the early miles giving up ground in the broader men's field, but from 8K to 10K he turned things around sharply, climbing from well outside the top 4,400 men to eventually finish among the top 4,007 — a sustained surge in the back half that earned him second place in 2:29:57. The gap to Severino was 7:58, which is real ground to make up, but Kim's finishing trajectory suggested he was running his best racing in the second half.

Severino, by contrast, showed a slight mid-race drift — his position in the men's field dipped briefly around the 15K mark before recovering strongly to the finish, where he posted a 3,673rd-fastest split on the 15K-to-finish segment. He closed when it counted. Johnston of Chicago kept a measured pace throughout but couldn't match the front two, finishing in 3:02:07 — a respectable effort over 13.1 miles at 75, and enough to complete the M75-79 podium.