Shamrock 8K M70-74: Al Rude Owns Virginia Beach at 72

• Al Rude won the M70-74 group in 41:44 (8:24/mi), finishing nearly two minutes clear of runner-up Robbie Robins.
• Robbie Robins (43:30) held 2nd comfortably, with a 2:34 gap back to 3rd-place John Brokken (46:04).
• John Brokken and Fred Pressley Jr were separated by just 19 seconds for 3rd and 4th — the tightest battle on the podium's edge.
• 52 men finished in the M70-74 group on a mild but humid Virginia Beach morning (62°F, 76% humidity, light wind).

Al Rude made this one look straightforward. The 72-year-old from Sparks, MD, ran 8:24 per mile through the 8K and was never seriously threatened, building a gap that only widened as the race progressed. By the 2-to-4-mile stretch he was already well clear, and his 41:44 finish stood alone at the top of the M70-74 leaderboard by a margin that left no doubt.

Robbie Robins, also 70 and racing on home turf in Yorktown, locked down 2nd place in 43:30 — a solid 8:45/mi effort that kept him well clear of the chase pack. Behind him, the real drama was the fight for the final podium spot. John Brokken (Rochester, MN) and Fred Pressley Jr (Powell, OH) ran nearly identical races, finishing in 46:04 and 46:23 respectively — just 19 seconds apart after nearly five miles of racing.

The middle of the field showed genuine depth across the age group. Paul Michels and Robert Rantanen — both Virginia Beach locals — finished 5th and 6th in 47:02 and 47:15, a gap of only 13 seconds. Ben Leach, David Brownell, and Dwight Brown then filled out positions 7 through 9 within a two-minute window, making for a tightly bunched stretch of racing from roughly the 47- to 49-minute mark. With 32 additional finishers beyond the top 20, the M70-74 group at Shamrock 2025 was one of the more competitive gatherings of septuagenarian runners you'll find anywhere on the East Coast this spring.