M60-69 at Way Too Cool 50K: Hess Runs Away with It

• Ronald Hess (64, Fair Oaks) wins M60-69 in 5:26:03 — a 10:30/mi average across 31 miles of Sierra Nevada foothills.
• Timothy Fitzpatrick pushed hard but finished 7:10 back in 5:33:13, the gap sealed by a stronger Goat Hill→HWY 49 leg from Hess.
• Mansour Monem claimed third in 6:06:45, nearly 34 minutes clear of fourth — the most decisive gap on the M60-69 podium.
• All 13 men in the age group finished, from Hess's 5:26:03 down to Joseph Ferra's 8:29:05.

Ronald Hess controlled this race from the front. He entered the Goat Hill→HWY 49 segment already sitting 35th among the men's field and held that position through the finish, running the 34th-fastest split on that stretch in the men's field — a performance that underscored just how consistently he moved through the course. At 10:30/mi across a 50K with real elevation, that's a disciplined, confident effort.

Timothy Fitzpatrick made a compelling run at the lead. He started the race 58th among men and steadily climbed — moving to 48th, then 41st, then 40th — and posted the 34th-fastest men's split on Goat Hill→HWY 49, actually a tick faster than Hess on that segment. But the gap Hess had already built proved too large to close. Fitzpatrick crossed in 5:33:13, a solid 10:44/mi, and a worthy second.

Mansour Monem, at 66 the oldest man on the M60-69 podium, locked in third with a 6:06:45 finish (11:48/mi). He ran a steady if slightly fading race — drifting from 59th among men at the start to 70th by the finish — but his margin over fourth-place Richard Slavensky (6:32:35) was a commanding 25:50, making the bronze his without much late drama.

Behind the top three, the field spread out across more than two hours of racing. Paul Sweeney (60, Truckee) rounded out the top five in 6:45:20, while Manouch Shirvanioun, Ken Brunt, Michael Peoples, Theo Parisek, Joe Mitchell, Don Kiser, John Nichols, and Joseph Ferra all pushed through to the finish — Ferra completing the course in 8:29:05 at a 16:23/mi pace to close out the M60-69 field.