M75-79: Ed Borjas Runs Away From the Field in Fresno

• Ed Borjas, 77, won the M75-79 group in 35:03 — running 11:17/mi, he finished 16 minutes and 6 seconds clear of second place.
• Jit Basra (51:09) and Benjamin Duran (53:53) were separated by just 2 minutes and 44 seconds for the 2nd and 3rd spots in a group of five.
• Ernesto Lopez crossed in 1:15:17, more than 21 minutes behind Duran — and still nearly 39 minutes ahead of fifth.
• Orlando Vasquez, 76, completed the 5K in 1:54:17 at 36:47/mi — a reminder that finishing a race at 76, under a warm 74°F Fresno sun, is its own achievement.

Five men aged 75 to 77 toed the line in Fresno on a clear, mild November morning, and Ed Borjas made it look like a different race entirely. The 77-year-old from Clovis ran 11:17 per mile from start to finish, crossing in 35:03 — a margin of more than 16 minutes over the rest of the M75-79 field. In a group where everyone is competing against the calendar as much as each other, that gap was emphatic.

Behind Borjas, the real contest was between Jit Basra and Benjamin Duran. Basra, 76, from Modesto, held 2nd in 51:09. Duran, 77, from Merced, pushed him all the way, finishing in 53:53 — close enough that a stronger second half might have flipped the result. Two minutes and 44 seconds was all that separated them across 3.1 miles.

Ernesto Lopez of Fresno came home 4th in 1:15:17, running 24:14 per mile — a pace that reflects the genuine physical demands of covering any distance at 75, in the heat of the day. Orlando Vasquez, also of Fresno and also 76, rounded out the group in 1:54:17. He took his time, but he finished — and in a five-man field where every finisher counts, that matters.