How the heck did I finish first in the 65 to 69-year-old age group? And there were more than one person in that age group.
2025 was the 32nd edition of the Grand Prix. The 12 races were the 329th through 340th races in the series. We had our awards celebration this past Saturday.
Over the 32 years, I’ve completed 228 races and 1213.42 miles. I have a current streak of 70 race finishes spanning 6 years.
Until 2021, I never placed in the top 3 of my age group in any series race. I had no top-3 age-group race finishes this year. All races did not include a 65 to 69 group, but instead used a 10-year 60 to 69 grouping.
Fortunately, I’ve been in the top 3 of my age group at 5 of the past 6 Grand Prix, and this was my second age-group win. Age and perseverance do pay off. Keep running.
Next year, I age up to the 70-74-year-old age group. No one else in my current age group is aging up, too, and I scored more points than the winner of that age group this year. It will be a battle of the replaced hips versus the unknown heart, lung, and sinus issues.
So, how did I do it this year?
There were no awards in the 65-69 age group across the 12 races. If there were, I would have finished in the top 3 only thrice. In two cases, there were more than 3 competitors. I finished third in another race with only three age-group finishers.
32 unique individuals finished a race in the 65-69 age group. A couple were still younger than 65 at the series age cutoff date, and one aged up.
Only three people finished the required minimum of seven races. I finished all 12. The other two finished 8 and 9 races. I only finished ahead of either of those other two once in a race.
Finishing all 12 races is key, as only my best 7 races count toward series placement. For all three of us, our Fallen Heroes scores were not in our best seven.
I scored in three races that the second-place runner did not finish, and I scored in three races that the third-place runner did not finish.
Only one of their DNF races was the same.
I gained ground on second place in a 5km, Devil’s Den 10 mile, Plaid to the Bone 10km, and Downtown Mile. I gained ground on third place in the Dahlgren Trail half-marathon, Heppe 15km, and Devil’s Den 10-mile. I only gained ground by them not finishing the race, except for Plaid to the Bone, which was my only better race finish.
Once again: the key is finishing all 12 races.
My awards included: a pair of socks and two pieces to add to the series medal. By finishing all 12 races, the club is paying my entry fee for the 2026 Devil’s Den 10 Mile.
The 2026 Coldwell Banker Elite Grand Prix starts with a half-marathon on January 31.