M65-69 Half Marathon: Bronk dominates a chilly Napa morning

• James Bronk wins M65-69 in 1:36:09 (7:20/mi), finishing more than three minutes clear of the field.
• Michael Castillo takes 2nd in 1:39:19 (7:35/mi) — the gap to Bronk is 3:10, while 3rd place is nearly 14 minutes further back.
• Phillip Deland claims 3rd in 1:53:09 (8:38/mi), surging on the back half to move from 305th to 278th among the men.
• A tight cluster at 13th–15th: Mike Loo (2:40:59), Randy Chin (2:41:01), and Tom Courtney (2:41:18) — separated by just 19 seconds across three finishers.

With 37°F temperatures and heavy humidity hanging over Napa Valley, the 22-man M65-69 field set out on a cold March morning — and James Bronk made it look comfortable. The 65-year-old Napa local crossed in 1:36:09, averaging 7:20 per mile from start to finish. He also gained three spots among the men in the second half, posting the 94th-fastest men's split on the 6.9M-to-Finish stretch — a strong close that underscored his command of this race.

Michael Castillo, also of Napa and three years Bronk's senior at 68, held 2nd throughout and finished in 1:39:19 at 7:35/mi. The 3:10 gap to Bronk was decisive, and Castillo actually slipped three spots among the men over the final segment — but no one in M65-69 was going to threaten him. Phillip Deland of Pleasanton rounded out the podium in 1:53:09, running 8:38/mi and finishing with the strongest back-half move of the top three, climbing 27 spots in the men's field on the closing leg.

William Hess (1:57:07) and Curtis Rambin (1:59:33) filled out the top five, both finishing under two hours and both gaining ground in the men's field over the final stretch. After that, the field spread considerably — John Zakarian's 6th-place 2:11:39 opened a 12-minute gap to 5th, and the back half of the field stretched all the way to Benny Martinez's 3:20:55 in 20th. Perhaps the most entertaining subplot came at places 13 through 15, where Loo, Chin, and Courtney finished within 19 seconds of each other — Loo edging Chin by just two seconds, Courtney another 17 back.