M60-69: Petrik Owns the 25-Miler

• Todd Petrik, 61, wins M60-69 in 6:23:52 (15:21/mi avg), finishing more than an hour ahead of the only other finisher in the age group.
• Allan Fuss, 66, takes 2nd in 7:29:23 (17:59/mi avg) — a 1:05:31 gap separates the two.
• Fuss closed strong: his Last Gasp→Finish split ranked 12th-fastest among the women's field on that segment.
• Petrik moved steadily through the men's field, advancing from 29th to 24th among men over the course of the race.

Out in Auburn's hills under a warm, clear April sky — 73°F with only a whisper of wind — Todd Petrik of Folsom made the M60-69 race look like a solo time trial. His 6:23:52 finish at a 15:21/mi average is the kind of effort that earns a result, not just a placement, and he backed it with steady forward momentum through the men's field, moving from 29th to 24th as the miles accumulated.

Petrik's strongest relative segment came on the Rattlesnake Bar→Last Gasp stretch, where he posted the 22nd-fastest split among the women's field — a meaningful benchmark on what is one of the race's more demanding stretches. He didn't just survive the middle miles; he pressed through them.

Allan Fuss, 66, of Sacramento, had a different kind of day — a longer one, finishing in 7:29:23 at 17:59/mi — but he saved something for the end. His Last Gasp→Finish split ranked 12th-fastest among the women's field on that closing segment, meaning he was genuinely moving when it counted most, even if the overall gap to Petrik had long since been decided. At 66, finishing a 25-mile trail race in any time is a statement; finishing with one of the sharper closing splits on the final leg is a better one.

Two finishers, an hour apart, both pushing into their 60s across 25 miles of American River country. The scoreboard is thin, but the effort on both sides of it is not.