M70-74: Baucom Blazes to a Dominant Win in Sacramento

• Terry Baucom won the M70-74 age group in 20:07 (6:29/mi), finishing more than two minutes clear of the field.
• Gerhard Fischer (74) claimed 2nd in 22:17, with Pip Smith (70) rounding out the podium in 23:06.
• The top-5 were separated by just over five minutes, while the full 14-man field spanned more than 31 minutes from first to last.

Terry Baucom, 70, made this race look controlled from the start. Running a 6:29/mi average, he moved steadily through the men's field over the course of the 5K, climbing from 57th to 53rd among men by mile two before settling at 54th at the line — and his 2M→3M split ranked among the faster efforts in the field. The 2:10 gap he put between himself and 2nd-place Gerhard Fischer tells the real story: this wasn't a close race at the front.

Fischer, at 74 the oldest man on the podium, ran a composed 7:10/mi to hold off Pip Smith (also 70, Folsom) by 49 seconds. Smith's 7:26/mi average was solid, and he showed some life on the back half, moving from 110th to 106th among men between miles one and two before settling back. Behind them, Mike Cordano (74, El Dorado Hills) and Steve Bond (70, Sacramento) ran nearly together — 25:11 and 25:33 — with Bond unable to close the 22-second gap Cordano opened.

Robert Mathews (6th, 27:24) and Ron Souza (7th, 27:42) kept it tight in the next pairing, just 18 seconds apart at 8:49 and 8:55 per mile respectively. The back half of the field spread out considerably from there: Ernie Bitsilly crossed 8th in 32:47, Nils Carlson 9th in 34:17, and Thomas Anthony Stassi 10th in 36:05. Steve Swindel (11th, 37:47), Scott Prigge (12th, 40:08), Gary Campbell (13th, 49:41), and Scott Edwards (14th, 51:30) rounded out all 14 finishers — every one of them covering 3.1 miles on a clear Sacramento morning with a stiff 14 mph wind at their backs (or in their faces, depending on the turn).