M60-69: Pommier Dominates the 60s at Jed Smith

• Jean Pommier, 61, wins M60-69 in 3:43:18 (7:11/mi) — nearly two hours ahead of 2nd place, and a 20-minute improvement over his 6th-place men's finish here in 2025.
• Charles Blakeney takes 2nd in 5:45:25, finishing 2:02:07 behind Pommier but 22:53 clear of 3rd.
• Nattu Natraj claims 3rd in 6:08:18, closing the final stretch with the 21st-fastest men's split from the Marathon mark to the finish — enough to hold off 4th comfortably.
• John Nichols rounds out the M60-69 group in 7:35:10 (14:39/mi), finishing 1:26:52 behind Natraj.

Jean Pommier put on a clinic in the M60-69 group on a cool, foggy Sacramento morning. The 61-year-old from Cupertino ran 3:43:18 at a 7:11/mi clip — a pace that didn't just win his age group, it placed him 4th among all men in the race by the halfway point and held there through the finish. For context on how much he's grown: Pommier ran this same race in 2025 and finished 6th among men in 4:04:17. A year later, he lopped nearly 21 minutes off that time. That's not a small tweak — that's a different runner.

Behind him, Charles Blakeney of Oakland made steady if modest progress through the men's field over the first two laps before settling into his rhythm. His 5:45:25 finish at 11:07/mi secured a clear 2nd in the age group. Nattu Natraj of Auburn ran a patient race, actually gaining places late — moving from 32nd among men at the midpoint up to 26th by the finish, posting the 21st-fastest men's split from the Marathon checkpoint to the line. His 6:08:18 left him nearly 23 minutes behind Blakeney but well clear of 4th.

John Nichols of Sacramento closed out the M60-69 field in 7:35:10, averaging 14:39/mi across the 50K distance. He ceded a spot in the men's standings over the final laps, but finishing a 50K at 61 years old in any conditions is its own achievement — and on this foggy January morning, all four men in the M60-69 group got it done.