M60-64 Half Marathon: Brink Breaks Clear in San Francisco

• John Brink, 62, wins M60-64 in 1:37:01 (7:24/mi), finishing nearly 1:40 ahead of runner-up Mark Crane.
• Top three separated by just 2:03 — Crane (1:38:40) and Zheming Wang (1:39:04) ran the closest battle of the day.
• Brink's strongest segment came in the back half, climbing from 156th to 107th among men between miles 7 and 11 — the most aggressive sustained move of anyone in the top three.
• George Yi faded late, slipping from 275th to 415th among men across the final stretch, while Norbert Giesen held steadier at 376th to take 4th in 1:48:01.

John Brink made the trip from Grand Rapids count. Running 7:24/mi across the hilly San Francisco course, the 62-year-old built a lead that held all the way to the tape, winning M60-64 in 1:37:01. What made his run stand out wasn't just the pace — it was the trajectory. He moved from 156th to 107th among men in the miles 7–11 stretch, a stretch where many runners are fading into the city's punishing grades. That's where the race was won.

Behind him, Mark Crane and Zheming Wang ran a genuine battle. Crane, racing on home turf in San Francisco, crossed in 1:38:40 (7:32/mi) for 2nd, with Wang of San Jose finishing just 24 seconds later in 1:39:04 (7:33/mi) for 3rd. The gap between them was close, but Crane got there by running the 7.12M–10.65M segment faster — Wang was tracking him but couldn't close it down in the final miles.

Fourth place went to Norbert Giesen (1:48:01, 8:14/mi), who navigated the race with more consistency than 5th-place George Yi. Yi ran a strong early stretch, moving from 357th to 275th among men through the first major segment, but gave it all back and more, drifting to 415th by the finish. Giesen's steadier effort earned him the position by a full minute.

The depth across 74 finishers was real — Parag Chitalia (6th, 1:51:55), Brian Durkin (7th, 1:52:41), and Jose Samayoa (8th, 1:53:53) were separated by under two minutes, and the field stretched all the way through competitors representing San Francisco, Japan, Spain, El Salvador, and Israel.