Results/Photos

Date: Aug. 22, 2026 Participant: Bill Sommers #366 Race: 2026 Habanero Marathon Distance: 26.2 miles

Age-Group Champion Grinds Out a Steady Finish in Brutal Heat Bill Sommers, 72, of Plano, Texas, completed the Marathon distance at the 2026 Habanero Hundred in 10:54:34, covering 25.9 miles at an overall pace of 25:16 per mile. He finished 18th overall out of 39 participants, 16th among men, and claimed first place in the M70+ division a position he held from the first mile marker through the finish line. Notably, this event is run on a single 10km loop course under a high-noon start, a deliberate design choice by organizers so runners face peak heat while still fresh rather than late in the race. Sommers opened strong, clicking off his first three miles in roughly 17:3918:38 pace, sitting inside the top 20 overall early on. The middle miles told a tougher story, as the Texas heat took its toll: splits stretched into the 30s and even a 45:32 mile (mile 9), pushing his overall pace from the 17-minute range past 25 minutes by the halfway point. From there, his effort stabilized, with splits generally ranging between 19 and 27 minutes per mile over the back half, including a strong 18:46 split at mile 13 and a 19:32 mile at mile 16 that briefly moved him into 15th overall. Down the stretch, Sommers closed with more consistency, posting sub-25-minute splits in eight of his final ten miles, including a 19:27 finish to mile 25. Given the significant slowdown between miles 4 and 10, incorporating structured heat-adaptation efforts or an early pacing strategy could help smooth out mid-race fluctuations in future hot-weather ultras. Regardless, holding the M70+ division lead wire-to-wire on a course built for extreme conditions stands as the defining takeaway from this performance.