M70-74 at Barks & Brews 5K: Baucom blazes to a dominant win

• Terry Baucom won the M70-74 group in 20:07 (6:29/mi), finishing more than two minutes clear of the field.
• Gerhard Fischer (74) edged Pip Smith (70) for 2nd, 22:17 to 23:06 — a 49-second gap between them.
• Mike Cordano and Steve Bond ran nearly together for 4th and 5th, separated by just 22 seconds (25:11 vs. 25:33).
• The M70-74 group spread wide: from Baucom's 20:07 to Scott Edwards' 51:30, a range of over 31 minutes across 14 finishers.

Terry Baucom, 70, from El Dorado Hills, put on a clinic in Sacramento's warm Memorial Day weekend conditions — 68°F with a 14 mph breeze. His 6:29/mi average is a genuinely sharp clip for any age, and it was never really a contest for the top spot. His moves tell the story: he climbed steadily through the men's field across each mile, and his final mile was his strongest segment, posting the 48th-fastest split on the 2M→3M stretch in the men's field — a well-timed finish rather than a fade.

Behind him, the battle for 2nd was the group's most compelling subplot. Gerhard Fischer, the oldest man in the top five at 74, held off Pip Smith (also 70, out of Folsom) by 49 seconds. Fischer's best relative segment came on the 1M→2M stretch, where he posted the 89th-fastest split in the men's field — solid mid-race running that helped him stay clear. Smith matched him in structure but couldn't close the gap.

Fourth and fifth played out as a near-lockstep duel between El Dorado Hills' Mike Cordano and Sacramento's Steve Bond — 25:11 and 25:33 respectively, just 22 seconds apart after 3.1 miles. Robert Mathews (27:24) and Ron Souza (27:42) were similarly paired just behind them, separated by only 18 seconds. The back half of the M70-74 field spread considerably, with Gary Campbell and Scott Edwards both exceeding 49 minutes — but finishing a 5K at 70-plus, under the Sacramento sun, is its own achievement.