M60-64: Barbosa Runs Away With It in San Francisco

• Pedro Barbosa, 62, wins in 36:20 — a 5:51/mi average that put him more than 14 minutes clear of the field.
• Closest battle of the day: Greg Walsh (4th, 56:22) and Thomas Cook (5th, 56:31) — just 9 seconds separated them at the line.
• Phillip Consiglio and Laszlo Gyorffy finished 13th (1:05:13) and 12th (1:05:06) respectively, just 7 seconds apart.
• 18 finishers completed the M60-64 race, ranging from Barbosa's 5:51/mi to Jitendra Patel's 13:13/mi finish in 1:22:10.

Pedro Barbosa made this one a solo effort from the gun. The 62-year-old from South San Francisco crossed in 36:20 at 5:51 per mile — a pace that would turn heads in any age group on a cool, humid San Francisco morning. The gap back to second place was not a close race; it was a statement. Kenny Sadai finished a solid second in 50:36 (8:09/mi), with Matt Ginsburg rounding out the podium in 52:57 (8:31/mi). Those two ran their own clean race well behind Barbosa, but well clear of the chase pack.

The real drama in the M60-64 field played out around the 4th and 5th spots. Greg Walsh (56:22, 9:04/mi) and Thomas Cook (56:31, 9:06/mi) ran the entire race within a whisker of each other, with just 9 seconds deciding fourth from fifth at the finish. Kenneth Smetana, making the trip from Pinehurst, NC, came in 6th at 58:44 — close enough to keep the mid-pack honest but unable to bridge to Walsh or Cook.

Further back, the field spread across a wide range of paces. Gregory Haroutunian (7th, 1:01:01) and Reinhard Uliczka — traveling all the way from Aachen — finished 8th in 1:01:27, just 26 seconds apart. Laszlo Gyorffy (12th, 1:05:06) and Phillip Consiglio (13th, 1:05:13) staged their own tight finish, separated by only 7 seconds. Jitendra Patel brought home the final finisher spot in 1:22:10, completing all 6.2 miles at 13:13 per mile to close out the M60-64 field.