M70+ at Jed Smith Ultra Classic 30K: Nur Dominates, Flanigan Endures

• Jacob Nur, 70, wins M70+ in 2:08:49 — a 6:55/mi average across 18.6 miles of foggy Sacramento roads.
• James Flanigan, 76, finishes 2nd in 4:12:52 — more than two hours back, but crossing the line at an age when simply toeing the start line is its own statement.
• Nur posted the fastest men's split on the Lap 2→Finish segment in the men's field — the strongest closing leg of anyone out there.
• Flanigan's Lap 2→Finish split ranked 11th among the men — a respectable showing on the back half despite his overall pace of 13:34/mi.

The M70+ group at the 2026 Jed Smith Ultra Classic 30K was two men, two very different races — and both of them finished. Jacob Nur, age 70, set the tone from the opening miles and never let up, running a 6:55/mi average through the fog and 93% humidity that blanketed Sacramento. That kind of sustained pace over 30 kilometers is demanding at any age; in the M70+ group, it was simply dominant.

What makes Nur's performance particularly sharp is how he closed. On the Lap 2→Finish segment, he posted the fastest split among all the men — not just the fastest in M70+, but the fastest of the men's field on that leg. That's a finisher who wasn't managing the back half; he was racing it.

James Flanigan, 76, ran his own race entirely. At 13:34/mi, the Davis resident covered the same 30 kilometers that Nur did and crossed the same finish line — two hours and four minutes later, but across it nonetheless. His Lap 2→Finish split ranked 11th among the men, meaning he had plenty of company on that closing stretch, even if the clock told a different story from Nur's.

Two finishers, a 2:04:03 gap between them, and a combined age of 146 years racing through a foggy Sacramento morning. The M70+ group at Jed Smith doesn't need a photo finish to make it worth watching.