M80+ Marathon: Hozik Owns the Back Half at the People's Marathon

• James Hozik won M80+ in 5:49:43 (13:20/mi), finishing nearly 31:27 ahead of runner-up Chuck Johnson.
• Chuck Johnson (2nd, 6:21:10) and Ed Spatola (3rd, 6:38:10) were separated by 17 minutes, with Harold Rosen (4th, 6:43:15) closing to within 5 minutes of Spatola.
• Frank Korth (5th, 7:00:22) crossed in exactly the right window — just 22 seconds inside the 7-hour limit.
• Nine men 80 and older finished 26.2 miles through Arlington and Washington D.C. on a cold, humid October morning — 42°F with 87% humidity at the gun.

James Hozik of Great Falls, VA, didn't just win M80+ — he ran away from the field in commanding fashion, clocking 5:49:43 at a 13:20/mi average. What makes his victory particularly striking is how it unfolded. His gender place was climbing steadily through the second half of the race — moving from 17,174th among men at the 10K checkpoint all the way to 15,191st by the finish — a sustained surge through the back half that earned him the 11,841st-fastest men's split on the 35K-to-40K segment. In a field of tens of thousands, Hozik was passing people right to the end.

Chuck Johnson of Glenwood, MD, held a relatively steady position among the men's field throughout, finishing 2nd in 6:21:10 (14:32/mi). Behind him, Ed Spatola of Long Beach, CA, came in 3rd at 6:38:10 (15:11/mi), while Harold Rosen of Potomac, MD, told a different story — his gender place slid steadily from 15,328th early to 17,248th by the finish, a clear fade across the second half that left him 4th in 6:43:15 (15:23/mi), just 5 minutes behind Spatola.

Frank Korth of New Albany, OH, completed one of the tighter finishes of the day in a different sense — 7:00:22, with the race's 7-hour limit looming. He made it, and that counts. Dan Little (6th, 7:18:45), Miles Haven (7th, 7:25:35), Robert Stocker (8th, 7:25:50), and Gerard Lopez (9th, 7:32:01) all finished well past the cutoff threshold but completed the full distance — nine men in their 80s finishing a marathon through the monuments, organized by the U.S. Marine Corps, for no prize money and every reason to run.