Fort Ord 25K Male Masters: Charmoz Takes the Title in Damp, Dense Fort Ord

• Alex Charmoz wins the Male Masters in 2:13:39 (8:36/mi), posting the 3rd-fastest Toro Creek→Finish split among the women's field — a closing kick that underscored his dominance.
• John Hiestand's late surge was the race's best catch-up story: he climbed from 13th to 5th among men overall before landing 2nd in the Masters, finishing in 2:17:49 — 4:10 behind Charmoz.
• Roger Fabing, 69, finished 10th in the Masters at 2:48:00 — one of the more quietly impressive results in a field that stretched 57 deep.
• Gino Signoracci posted the 4th-fastest Skyline→Toro Creek split among the women's field but faded from 6th to 13th among men on the final leg, slipping to 4th in the Masters at 2:22:30.

A cool, humid morning at Fort Ord — 53°F and 91% humidity under overcast skies — set the table for a grinding 25K through the trails. Alex Charmoz of Idyllwild ran a controlled, measured race, holding 4th among men through the first two checkpoints before moving up to 3rd on the final Toro Creek→Finish leg. His 8:36/mi average was the class of the Masters field, and that closing split — 3rd-fastest in the entire women's field on that segment — showed he had real gas left when it mattered.

John Hiestand told the race's best momentum story. The Monterey local started conservatively, sitting 13th among men at the first checkpoint, then steadily worked his way forward — 11th, then 5th — to cross in 2:17:49 and claim 2nd in the Masters. His Toro Creek→Finish split ranked 4th among the women's field, making him one of the strongest closers in the race. Kris Kent held steady through the middle miles and rounded out the podium in 2:20:46 (9:04/mi), never straying far from 12th among men on the back half.

Gino Signoracci was a different story — fast through Skyline to Toro Creek (4th-fastest among women on that leg), but the final stretch cost him. He slid from 6th to 13th among men and finished 4th in the Masters at 2:22:30. Siddhartha Hamilton rounded out the top five in 2:29:53, while Viktor Spalek (2:34:31), Fred Watson (2:37:56), and Chas Christiansen (2:39:39) filled out a competitive top eight. And Roger Fabing — at 69, the oldest named finisher in this recap — crossed in 2:48:00 to claim 10th, a result worth a tip of the cap in any company.