M75-79: Combs runs away with it in West Sacramento

• John Combs, 78, wins in 25:38 — an 8:15/mi pace that left the M75-79 field nearly seven minutes behind the runner-up.
• William Janicki (2nd, 32:31) and Richard Contreras (3rd, 35:14) completed the podium, separated by 2:43.
• All 11 men finished on a crisp 54°F morning in West Sacramento — a full house across four decades of age in the 75-79 bracket.
• The spread from 1st to 11th was over an hour — John Combs' 25:38 to Bill Wilkins' 1:34:27 — a testament to the range of effort and ability this age group brings to the start line.

John Combs, 78, from Loomis, made this one look straightforward. His 8:15/mi average was in a different gear entirely from the rest of the M75-79 field — nearly two and a half minutes per mile faster than runner-up William Janicki's 10:28/mi pace. The gap at the finish told the story clearly: 6:53 back to Janicki, and the race for the win was never really a race at all.

Behind Combs, the real contest was for the podium places. Janicki, 77, from El Dorado Hills, held second comfortably, finishing in 32:31. Richard Contreras, 75, from Rio Linda, pushed him across the line in 35:14 — close enough to make the second step of the podium feel earned, but Janicki's 10:28/mi to Contreras' 11:20/mi meant the gap was always there.

The middle of the field — John A. Delmonte (4th, 52:28), Glenn Bailey (5th, 54:14), and Benjamin Tiburcio (6th, 58:17) — clustered within about six minutes of each other, with Dave Pevny (7th, 59:11) and Gary Jones (8th, 59:44) following close behind. Bill Howe crossed 9th in 1:02:53, Richard Delgado came home 10th in 1:11:31, and Bill Wilkins rounded out the group in 1:34:27. Every single one of them showed up, toed the line, and got it done on a breezy St. Patrick's Day weekend morning — and that's worth noting.