M65-69 Marathon: Gaysunas dominates a hard day in Cleveland

• Kevin Gaysunas (1st, 3:54:17) won the M65-69 group by 23 minutes and 35 seconds — the most commanding margin in the age group — averaging 8:56/mi through 75°F heat and humidity.
• Joseph Willis (2nd, 4:17:52) held steady at roughly 9:50/mi and closed well, posting the 452nd-fastest split in the field on the 19.1M–22.5M stretch.
• Carl Guendelsberger (3rd, 5:34:29) and Jay Morehart (4th, 5:41:27) were separated by just 6 minutes and 58 seconds for the final podium spot, with Guendelsberger holding on at 12:45/mi to Morehart's 13:01/mi.
• John Weisensell (5th, 6:07:19) and Ronald Ross (6th, 6:27:33) rounded out a six-man M65-69 field, finishing 14 minutes apart at the back of the group.

Kevin Gaysunas made the M65-69 race his own from the outset. Racing in 75°F heat with 68% humidity — conditions that grind down even younger legs — the 66-year-old from Westerville clicked off 8:56-per-mile across 26.2 miles, a pace that left the field well behind. His gender place actually drifted back through the middle miles (309 to 425 at one checkpoint) before he reeled off a strong closing stretch, recovering to 356th among men by the finish. That late surge was real: his 22.5M-to-finish split ranked 275th-fastest in the men's field on that segment, a genuine kick on a warm afternoon.

Joseph Willis of Shaker Heights was a distant but composed second. The 68-year-old ran a measured 9:50/mi and showed some life in the closing miles, his men's place improving from 690 to 581 over the final segments. His 19.1M–22.5M split ranked 452nd among men on that stretch — a sign he was still moving well past mile 19 while others around him faded.

Behind Willis, the race split into two separate contests. Guendelsberger (3rd, 5:34:29) and Morehart (4th, 5:41:27) ran the back half of the marathon within sight of each other at around 12:45 and 13:01 per mile respectively, with Guendelsberger's earlier pace giving him the cushion he needed to hold third. Further back, Weisensell (5th, 6:07:19) and Ross (6th, 6:27:33) completed the M65-69 field — six men who toed the line on a legitimately tough Cleveland morning and saw it through.