M80+ 5K: Gilyutin Owns San Francisco's Toughest Age Bracket

• Isaak Gilyutin, 84, won the M80+ field in 41:41 (13:25/mi), nearly 10 minutes clear of second place.
• John Morrone, 80, of Anchorage, AK, took second in 51:03 (16:26/mi).
• Darryl Thomander, 80, of Palo Alto, CA, rounded out the three-man field in 1:01:53 (19:55/mi).

Three men aged 80 and above toed the line in San Francisco on a cool, overcast July morning — 57°F with a steady breeze off the bay — and all three saw it through to the finish. That alone is worth noting. But Isaak Gilyutin, an 84-year-old from San Jose, made it look like something more than endurance: he crossed in 41:41, running 13:25 per mile through a city course that doesn't give anything away easily.

Gilyutin's margin over second place was a commanding 9 minutes and 22 seconds — a gap that was never really in question. John Morrone, 80, made the trip down from Anchorage and delivered a solid 51:03 (16:26/mi), holding a clear and comfortable second place throughout. Darryl Thomander, also 80 and racing in his home county of Palo Alto, finished in 1:01:53 at 19:55/mi, completing the field.

In a race where the winner is nearly a decade older than his two competitors, the story writes itself. Gilyutin wasn't just the fastest man in the M80+ field — he was the oldest, and it wasn't close. At 84, running a sub-42-minute 5K on San Francisco's demanding streets is a performance that needs no embellishment.