Shamrock'n 5K M70-74: Nishimura Runs Away With It

• Lou Nishimura won the M70-74 group in 23:13 (7:28/mi) — more than two minutes clear of the field.
• Ron Souza claimed 2nd in 25:14 (8:07/mi), a solid 59-second gap back to 3rd.
• Titus Toyama rounded out the podium in 29:31 (9:30/mi), nearly four and a half minutes behind Souza.
• Thirteen men aged 70–74 finished on a crisp 54°F Sacramento-area morning — the back half of the field spread across a wide range from 39 minutes to just over an hour.

Lou Nishimura of Fair Oaks made this one look authoritative. His 23:13 at 7:28 per mile is the kind of performance that doesn't leave much room for debate — he crossed the line more than two full minutes ahead of anyone else in the M70-74 group. At 70 years old, that pace on a clear, cool St. Patrick's Day weekend morning was the clear headline of the morning in this age group.

Ron Souza of Citrus Heights ran a composed 25:14 (8:07/mi) to lock up 2nd, with nearly a minute of daylight on 3rd-place Titus Toyama. Toyama, also 70 and representing Sacramento, finished in 29:31 at 9:30/mi — a respectable podium finish, though the gap to Souza widened steadily over the course of the race. Those three separated themselves cleanly from the rest of the 13-man field.

Behind the podium, Duane Davis of Winters came in 4th at 39:14, already nearly ten minutes off Toyama's pace. From there, the field spread considerably — Russell McMahon (5th, 45:42), Scott Edwards (6th, 47:04), and Gary Campbell (7th, 47:13) were clustered within 91 seconds of each other in the mid-to-high 40s. The final stretch of finishers — from Tun Landenhamer's 8th-place 53:16 through Lorenzo Sifuentes finishing 13th in 1:06:54 — showed that for many of these men, simply getting to the line on a March morning in West Sacramento was the whole point. And that's worth something too.