Barks & Brews 5K M60-64: Yanez Dominates, Roh Holds Off a Late Charge

• David Yanez (63, Roseville) won the M60-64 group in 21:31 — a 6:56/mi pace that left the field nearly 70 seconds behind.
• Gregg Roh took 2nd in 22:40, finishing 1:09 back but a comfortable 1:22 clear of 3rd-place John Nichols (24:02).
• John Nichols made the strongest closing move in the top three, climbing from 104th to 86th among men on the final segment — the best positional gain of any podium finisher.
• 19 men finished across a wide spread: the gap from 1st to 19th (Kevin Tarver, 1:08:33) spanned more than 47 minutes.

David Yanez was simply in a different race. Running 6:56 per mile on a warm Sacramento morning — 73°F and clear — the 63-year-old from Roseville crossed in 21:31 and held steady throughout, moving from 53rd to 52nd among men and posting the 52nd-fastest closing split in the men's field on the 1M-to-finish stretch. That kind of composure in the back half is what separates a winner from a contender.

Behind him, Gregg Roh (60, Sacramento) secured 2nd in 22:40, though his closing leg told a slightly different story — he slipped from 61st to 68th among men over that final mile, suggesting the 7:18/mi average came at some cost late. Still, the 1:22 cushion over John Nichols (24:02) was never seriously threatened. Nichols, also 60 and from Sacramento, was the most aggressive finisher in the top three, surging from 104th to 86th among men on the closing segment and posting the 83rd-fastest split in the men's field over that stretch.

The middle of the M60-64 field was tightly grouped from 4th through 7th, with Reginald Daniels (25:19), Michael Walden (25:37), Ernest Shimizu (26:25), and Mike Jimenez (26:32) all finishing within 73 seconds of each other. Walden was the mover of that quartet, climbing from 134th to 118th among men on the final mile. From Bill Bubka's 28:07 in 8th place onward, the field spread out considerably, with the back half of the 19-man group ranging from 30 minutes to well over an hour.