M25-29 Half Marathon: Gregory Surges Late to Claim the Age Group

• David Gregory won the M25-29 group in 1:10:43 (5:24/mi), moving from 5th to 1st among men in the final stretch to seal the title.
• John Walker led among men through the first 10K but faded from 1st to 6th over the back half, finishing 3rd in 1:11:28.
• The top three were separated by just 45 seconds; 4th through 6th covered another 41 seconds, making the top half-dozen a genuinely competitive pack.
• 71°F, 17 mph winds, and 73% humidity on a March morning in Virginia Beach — conditions that made every sub-5:30 mile earned.

The M25-29 race at the 2025 Shamrock Half Marathon was decided by movement, not dominance. John Walker of Norfolk came out fast, sitting 1st among men through the opening 10K, and looked like the man to beat. But the middle miles told a different story: Walker slipped to 6th among men between 10K and 15K and couldn't recover, finishing 3rd in 1:11:28.

David Gregory, meanwhile, was playing a longer game. The Virginia Beach local oscillated through the men's standings — 5th, 2nd, 5th, 2nd — before finally locking in 1st among men in the closing miles. His 5:24/mi average held up through the heat and wind for a winning time of 1:10:43, and he posted the fastest men's split on the 5K-to-10K segment, the stretch where Walker was still leading. Gregory didn't just outlast the field — he outran it when it mattered.

Scott McGowan of Henrico ran a remarkably steady race by contrast, holding 4th or 5th among men at every checkpoint and finishing exactly where his consistency pointed: 2nd in 1:11:17, just 34 seconds behind Gregory. His 4th-fastest men's split on the 5K–10K segment showed he was in the mix all along, never flashy but never fading.

Behind the podium, Colin SyBing (4th, 1:12:50) and Nicholas Arnecke (5th, 1:13:19) both posted strong 20K-to-finish splits — 5th and 8th fastest among men on that closing segment, respectively — suggesting the warm, windy conditions caught some runners later in the race while others found another gear. In a 384-finisher M25-29 field, the front of the race was tight, tactical, and decided in the final miles.