Barks & Brews 5K — M45-49: Reed Runs Away With It

• Jason Reed won the M45-49 group in 18:45 (6:02/mi), more than 2 minutes 12 seconds clear of runner-up Dennis Mui.
• Dennis Mui (20:57) and Lao Sue Thao (22:41) rounded out the podium, with Thao edging Norman Woods (23:20) by 39 seconds for 3rd.
• Woods and Thomas Brudz (23:32) fought the closest battle of the day — just 12 seconds separated 4th and 5th.
• The M45-49 field spanned a wide range: from Reed's 6:02/mi to the back of the pack well beyond 12:00/mi across 25 finishers.

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Jason Reed made the M45-49 race his own from the start. Running a 6:02/mi average on a warm Sacramento morning — 73°F and clear — he was never seriously challenged, building a gap that reached over two minutes by the finish line. His closing leg was equally sharp: he posted the 15th-fastest 1M-to-finish split among all men in the race, a mark that underscores just how controlled and strong his effort was from wire to wire.

Behind Reed, Dennis Mui (20:57, 6:45/mi) ran a composed race to hold 2nd, while Lao Sue Thao applied real pressure for the final podium spot. Thao's 7:18/mi pace was enough to keep Norman Woods at bay by 39 seconds, though Woods had been moving well through the field before the closing mile caught up with him — he slipped four spots in the men's standings on that final stretch, finishing 4th in 23:20. Thomas Brudz (23:32) was right on his heels, but 12 seconds was just enough cushion for Woods to hold him off.

The middle of the M45-49 field was where the race truly spread out. Scott Mcdonald (24:41) through Chad Miller (26:36) formed a compact cluster, separated by under two minutes across three finishers. Beyond that, the gaps widened considerably, with Jeremy Donati (29:26) and the runners behind him settling into a more measured pace on a morning that, while pleasant, still carried enough heat to make 5K effort feel honest.