M65-69 Half Marathon: Deacon Takes the Win in Napa's Chill

• Gary Deacon won the M65-69 race in 1:46:40 (8:08/mi), finishing ahead of a 19-man field that spanned nearly three hours of racing.
• Ruben Ramirez was the closest challenger, crossing in 1:47:55 — just 1:15 back — after running the strongest closing stretch (6.9M to Finish) among the top two, ranking 295th among all men on that segment.
• Richard Robinson rounded out the podium in 1:56:58 (8:55/mi), more than nine minutes clear of 4th place.
• The field spread wide: from Deacon's 8:08/mi at the front to Bruce Okrepki's 4:25:47 finish (20:16/mi) at 19th.

Under a brisk 47°F Napa morning with a 12 mph wind, Gary Deacon of Sonora ran a composed 8:08/mi to claim the M65-69 title in 1:46:40. His gender place actually dipped slightly through the middle stretch — from 279th among men at the first checkpoint to 307th at the midpoint — before recovering to 302nd by the finish, suggesting the back half of the course played to his strengths. It was a controlled, front-loaded effort that held up when it mattered.

Ruben Ramirez of Alameda was the story of the closing miles. He sat well back of Deacon's pace through the first half — 359th among men at the opening checkpoint — but ran the 6.9M-to-Finish segment as the 295th-fastest among all men, steadily reeling in the field. He couldn't close the 1:15 gap to Deacon, but he made it a race worth watching, finishing in 1:47:55 at 8:14/mi. Richard Robinson of Santa Cruz secured 3rd in 1:56:58 (8:55/mi), a comfortable cushion over Jose Loyo Bolivar's 2:05:04 in 4th.

Behind the podium, the M65-69 field spread out across a wide range of efforts. Morgan Gilhuly (5th, 2:14:10) through Shawn Fitzpatrick (12th, 2:27:14) formed a competitive middle pack separated by just 13 minutes across seven finishers. The back half of the field stretched further, with Blake Montana (16th, 3:00:44), Brad Bartholomew (17th, 3:04:22), and Brian Troy (18th, 3:27:40) all finishing with plenty of Napa morning left around them. Bruce Okrepki of Hammond, LA closed it out in 4:25:47 — a reminder that finishing 13.1 miles is the goal, whatever the clock says.