40-Year-Old Wins Oak Brook Half

David Williams, 40, of Milwaukee, has a strong running pedigree, including a 2:24 at the 2008 U.S. Olympic Marathon Trials. On Monday in Oak Brook, the rookie "master" took it all at the Oak Brook Half Marathon, taming the somewhat challenging 13.1-mile course in 1:12:53. That was enough to beat runner-up Jim Akita, the cross-country and track coach at Elmhurst College. Akita, 32, of Elmhurst, ran a 1:13:49. Third male of the 1,066 overall finishers was Jeff Bailey, 27, of Chicago, in 1:16:25.8. Another prime out-of-stater, Lindsay Hattendorf, 28, of Crown Point, IN, was the women's winner in 1:24:26.5. Like Williams, she is a school teacher who could teach runners a thing or two. Second was Jane Finck, of New York, NY, in 1:28:20.4, and third in the humid conditions went to Laura Papageorgiou, 25, of Skokie, in 1:32:20.3. Congrats to all who braved the conditions to finish a great half-marathon.