Shamrock'n 10K M65-69: Guitron Runs Away with It

• Faustino Guitron, 65, wins in 55:07 (8:52/mi) — more than 3 minutes clear of the field.
• Eric Kauffman takes 2nd in 58:29 (9:25/mi), the only other finisher under an hour.
• David Kavanaugh, 69, edges David Brotman for 3rd — 1:12:25 to 1:13:22, a 57-second margin — with Kavanaugh running the stronger back half.
• Ten M65-69 runners finished across a 41-minute spread, from 55:07 to 1:36:47.

Faustino Guitron of Rocklin made the M65-69 race his from the start. His 55:07 finish at 8:52/mi was in a class of its own — a gap of 3 minutes and 22 seconds over second place. He was moving well enough in the second half to climb five spots in the men's field between 5K and the finish, posting the 144th-fastest second-5K split among the men, a sign he wasn't coasting.

Eric Kauffman of Rancho Murieta was the only other M65-69 finisher to break an hour, crossing in 58:29 at 9:25/mi. Like Guitron, Kauffman also gained ground in the back half, picking up 15 spots among the men on that second 5K — a solid second-half push that secured his runner-up spot comfortably.

The battle for the podium's third step was the group's most compelling subplot. David Kavanaugh, 69, of Hercules and David Brotman, 67, of Fair Oaks were separated by just 57 seconds at the finish — 1:12:25 to 1:13:22 — but they got there very differently. Kavanaugh ran the second 5K faster, climbing 44 spots in the men's field after the halfway mark, while Brotman faded, dropping 18 spots over the same stretch. Kenneth Donlon, also 69, rounded out the top five in 1:14:39.

Kevin Soulsby (1:17:16), Allen Barnes (1:18:15), Brian Gerring (1:22:23), Douglas Holdren (1:29:10), and Jim Pratt (1:36:47) completed the M65-69 field — ten men out on a clear, mild Sacramento morning, covering 6.2 miles in conditions about as good as mid-March offers.