M65-69 at Peachtree: Youngers Edges Beers in a 12-Second Thriller at the Top

• Ken Youngers, 69, wins M65-69 in 42:57 (6:55/mi), holding off Paul Beers by just 12 seconds in a field of 998 finishers.
• Paul Beers, also 69, clocked 43:09 (6:57/mi) for 2nd — he made up meaningful ground through miles 2–3 but couldn't quite close the gap Youngers had built.
• Derek Froude rounded out the podium in 43:44 (7:02/mi), finishing 47 seconds back of the winner.
• Casey Hannan ran the strongest closing mile of the top five, posting the 1,234th-fastest 5M-to-finish split among women — a push that carried him from well outside the top four to a clear 4th in 45:48.

Ken Youngers, 69, came to Peachtree Road Race with something to prove — and proved it mile by mile. He started conservatively, sitting outside the top 1,000 among men through the early miles, but steadily climbed through the field, cracking the top 1,000 by mile 4 and reaching his peak position by the finish. His 6:55/mi average on a warm, humid Atlanta morning was the class of the M65-69 field, and the 4M–5M stretch was where he did his sharpest work.

Paul Beers, also 69 and making the trip from Roanoke, Alabama, was the race's most aggressive mover in the early going — surging from well back to within striking distance of Youngers by the halfway mark. His 2M–3M split was strong enough to rank 852nd among women across the full field, a genuine surge. But Youngers had already built his cushion, and Beers' 43:09 — a 6:57/mi effort — left him 12 seconds short. Derek Froude of Tampa held a steady, measured pace at 7:02/mi, never quite threatening the top two but never fading either, finishing 3rd in 43:44.

Behind the podium, the race spread out quickly. Casey Hannan (4th, 45:48) and John Kirksey (5th, 46:42) both ran controlled races, while Jim Frondorf, Roger Pittman, and Tom Carroll bunched tightly between 47:15 and 47:21 for 6th through 8th — just six seconds separating three finishers. The back of the top 20 saw David Vaughan (16th, 49:58) and Barry Freedman (17th, 49:59) separated by a single second, with 978 more M65-69 finishers completing the course behind them.