M70-74: Jacob Nur Dominates in a 6:58 Per Mile Masterclass

• Jacob Nur, 1st in M70-74 — finished in 2:19:25 at a 6:58/mi average, posting the 9th-fastest split in the field on the Mile 16→Finish stretch.
• Robert Mathews, 2nd — crossed in 3:47:53 (11:24/mi), more than 1:28 behind Nur but a full 26:47 ahead of third.
• Velizar Roganovic, 3rd — completed the 20 miles in 4:14:40 at 12:44/mi, rounding out a three-man M70-74 group.
• Gap from 1st to 3rd — nearly two full hours separated Nur from Roganovic, making this one of the widest spread fields on the course.

Three men in the M70-74 group lined up on a warm November morning in Folsom — 74°F with broken clouds overhead — and Jacob Nur wasted no time making his intentions clear. The 70-year-old from Elk Grove ran a controlled, relentless 6:58/mi average over 20 miles, a pace that would be formidable in any age group. He moved steadily through the men's field all race long, climbing from 40th among men at the first checkpoint to 22nd by the finish — a march forward that never stalled.

Nur's closing leg was particularly sharp. His Mile 16→Finish split ranked 9th-fastest in the entire field on that segment, meaning he was accelerating — or at minimum holding strong — while others around him faded in the heat. That kind of finishing kick over the final miles of a 20-miler at age 70 is the story of the day in M70-74.

Robert Mathews of Sacramento came home in 3:47:53, a solid 11:24/mi effort that held together across the full distance. He moved steadily through the men's field as well, advancing from 281st to 265th by the finish. Velizar Roganovic, the oldest of the three at 74, finished in 4:14:40 — a 12:44/mi pace over 20 miles that represents a genuine commitment to the distance. He ran most of the race near 280th–294th in the men's field, but he got to the line.

The M70-74 group was small but covered a wide range of efforts, with nearly two hours between first and third. Nur's performance stands alone — not just in this age group, but as one of the stronger closing splits of the entire race.