Santa Rosa 5K: Mark Selwyn dominates the M50-59 field

• Mark Selwyn, 57, wins in 20:16 — a 6:31/mi pace that put more than four minutes between him and every other finisher in the M50-59 field.
• Closest battle on the podium: Kent Williams (3rd, 25:15) chased Jiten Gore (2nd, 24:36) by just 39 seconds — the tightest gap of the day after Selwyn's commanding lead.
• Local flavor: Steve Chapman (4th, 26:27) and Gerardo Fragoso (17th, 40:23) both called Santa Rosa home, racing in front of a friendly crowd.
• 33 finishers completed the M50-59 race, ranging from Selwyn's 6:31/mi all the way to a 13:53/mi effort from Jp Yan in 20th.

Mark Selwyn made this one look easy. The 57-year-old from Palo Alto crossed in 20:16 at a 6:31/mi clip — a pace no one else in the M50-59 field came close to matching. His margin of victory over second-place Jiten Gore was 4:20, which in a 5K is less a race and more a statement.

Gore, 59 out of Santa Clara, held second place comfortably, finishing in 24:36 at 7:55/mi. Behind him, Kent Williams (52, Reno) pushed hard at 8:08/mi to close in 25:15, trimming the gap to 39 seconds by the finish line. That was the race within the race — Williams running the faster pace but Gore holding enough of a cushion to secure the runner-up spot.

Steve Chapman (55, Santa Rosa) rounded out the top four in 26:27, followed by Rodney Hosner (52, Forestville) in fifth at 27:27. Clarence Lynn (50, Healdsburg) and Manuel Martinez (59, Sonoma) kept things competitive through the middle of the field, finishing sixth and seventh in 28:08 and 29:36 respectively. Micah Baginski (50, Carmichael) was eighth in 30:08, with Philip Talarcek (50, Austin) and John Shields (53, St. Helena) rounding out the top ten at 32:19 and 33:55.

Cool, calm conditions — 63°F with barely a breeze — gave every runner in the field a fair shot, and 33 men took it. Selwyn simply ran a different race than everyone else.