Cleveland 5K M25-29: Huffman Dominates, Podium Gap Tells the Story

• Oliver Huffman (Stow, OH) won the M25-29 age group in 17:29 at a scorching 5:38/mi — more than 30 seconds clear of 2nd place.
• Noah Berko (Solon, OH) was a clear runner-up in 18:02 (5:48/mi), with a gap of nearly 3 full minutes separating him from 3rd.
• Pete Adkins and Keenan Burgess ran a tight battle for the final podium spot — 21:17 vs. 21:23, just 6 seconds apart at 6:51 and 6:53/mi respectively.
• Akshath Venkataraman rounded out the top five in 21:49 (7:01/mi), less than 27 seconds behind 4th.

Oliver Huffman was in a race of his own on a humid, breezy Cleveland morning. His 17:29 at 5:38/mi was the kind of performance that separates itself from the field immediately — he crossed the line 33 seconds ahead of Noah Berko and nearly four minutes ahead of the rest of the top five. With 83% humidity and a 15 mph wind off the lake, that pace was genuinely impressive, and no one else in the M25-29 group came close to testing him.

Berko's 18:02 was a comfortable second, but the real story below him was the sharp cliff in pace. Pete Adkins (3rd, 21:17, 6:51/mi) and Keenan Burgess (4th, 21:23, 6:53/mi) were locked in a tight duel for the final podium spot, separated by just six seconds across 3.1 miles. Adkins held on to claim 3rd, but Burgess pushed him every step of the way.

Just behind that pair, Akshath Venkataraman (5th, 21:49, 7:01/mi) and Malik Gulley (6th, 22:14, 7:09/mi) kept the middle of the field competitive, with the top six all finishing within about five minutes of each other — before the field spread further back through Joe Mertens (7th, 23:00) and Mark Mckinzie (8th, 23:14). In a field of 68, Huffman's margin at the top made the M25-29 result feel decided early, but the battles for position behind him gave the group plenty of its own drama.