Fort Ord 50K M60-69: Gang Qin Dominates the Sixties

• Gang Qin took the M60-69 title in 5:52:16 (11:20/mi), more than 27 minutes clear of second place.
• Ramiro Garcia claimed second in 6:19:37 — a strong 12:13/mi effort that left him nearly 41 minutes ahead of third.
• Michael Glover (65, Jackson, WY) finished third in 7:00:29, edging Peter Chan's 7:13:46 by over 13 minutes.
• Mihai Bulea rounded out the five-man M60-69 field in 7:31:16, posting the 28th-fastest Sandstone 1→Sandstone 2 split among the women's field.

Gang Qin's victory in the M60-69 group was never in serious doubt once the race unfolded. The 61-year-old from San Jose moved through the men's field with purpose — climbing from 49th among men at the first checkpoint all the way to 13th by the finish, a sustained surge that tells the story of a runner who got stronger as others faded. His 11:20/mi average over 31 hilly miles in Monterey's morning humidity was the class of the age group, and his 6th-fastest split on the Sandstone 2→Skyline segment among all women — a useful cross-field benchmark — underscores just how well he ran that stretch.

Ramiro Garcia, also out of San Jose, had a tidier positional journey: he tracked between 16th and 26th among men throughout and settled 19th at the line in 6:19:37. His First Half split ranked 14th among women in the field, signaling a solid early effort, though the near-27-minute gap to Qin shows the two were never really racing each other for the win.

The battle for the final podium spots was more spread out than tight. Michael Glover made a quiet move through the men's field in the second half — dropping from 44th at the first checkpoint to 30th at the finish — and his 7:00:29 at 13:32/mi was enough to hold off Peter Chan (67, Fremont) by 13 minutes and 17 seconds. Chan ran a measured 7:13:46 at 13:58/mi, posting the 32nd-fastest Toro Creek→Finish split among women and holding 35th among men at the line.

Mihai Bulea (67, San Jose) closed the M60-69 field in 7:31:16 at 14:31/mi. He showed a flicker of life on the Sandstone 1→Sandstone 2 stretch — the 28th-fastest split among women on that segment — but couldn't sustain it, sliding back to 41st among men by the finish. Five finishers, five different stories, all of them covering serious ground on a demanding Fort Ord course.