M75-79: Broach Takes the 10K Title in Fresno

• Thomas Broach (age 76) won the M75-79 group in 1:09:35 at an 11:12/mi pace, finishing 1:40 ahead of runner-up David Goodwin.
• David Goodwin (age 78) held second in 1:11:15 — the oldest of the three finishers and just two years from 80, still running 11:28/mi.
• Ben Bergstrom (age 75) — the youngest of the group — finished third in 1:23:45, more than 12 minutes back of Goodwin.
• All three men hailed from the Fresno/Clovis area, making this a purely local showdown on a warm November morning.

Three men lined up in the M75-79 group at the Two Cities Marathon 10K, and Thomas Broach made his intentions clear early. The 76-year-old from Fresno moved through the men's field steadily across the final stretch, gaining 27 places between the 1-mile mark and the finish to cross in 1:09:35. That closing surge — the 221st-fastest split on that segment among the men — was the sharpest of any M75-79 finisher and sealed the win comfortably.

David Goodwin, 78, ran a composed race of his own. Holding an 11:28/mi average, he also gained ground late, picking up 14 places in the men's field over the same closing stretch. The gap to Broach was 1:40 — real daylight, but Goodwin's effort at his age deserves its own spotlight. Running sub-1:12 at 78 years old, on a 74°F day in Fresno, is no small thing.

Ben Bergstrom, the youngest of the three at 75 and the lone Clovis representative, had a tougher afternoon. His 1:23:45 — a 13:29/mi pace — left him more than 12 minutes behind Goodwin and over 14 behind Broach. He did manage to gain one place in the men's field over the closing mile, but the day belonged to his two Fresno counterparts.

Broach takes the M75-79 title. In a three-man field on a warm fall morning, he was the class of the group from wire to wire.