M75-79: Sosnowski Runs Away With It in Sacramento

• Michael Sosnowski (76, Carmel Valley) won the M75-79 group in 3:59:47 — the only finisher to break four hours, at a 9:09/mi average.
• The winning margin was 34:11 over runner-up Don Younkin (4:33:58), a gap that reflects a dominant wire-to-wire performance.
• Charles Curran (75, Sacramento) and James Morris (75, Albany) waged the race's closest battle: just 2:44 separated 4th from 5th across 26.2 miles.
• Eight men finished, ranging from Sosnowski's 3:59:47 to Bruce Mauldin's 6:00:56 — a spread of two hours and one minute across the group.

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Eight men aged 75–77 toed the line in Sacramento on a mild December morning — 59°F, a whisper of wind, partly cloudy — about as close to ideal marathon conditions as California can offer. Michael Sosnowski made the most of it. The 76-year-old from Carmel Valley ran a composed, controlled race, steadily climbing through the men's field from the opening miles and never looking back. His 9:09/mi average held firm all the way to the finish, and the sub-4:00 clock made him one of the more efficient runners on the course regardless of age.

Don Younkin (Philadelphia, PA) was clearly in a race of his own for second, running 4:33:58 at 10:27/mi — a solid effort, but Sosnowski had already built an insurmountable lead long before the back half. Eric Spector (77, Greenbrae) rounded out the podium in 5:08:48, finishing with a strong closing segment from 40K to the line that kept him clear of 4th place.

The most compelling duel of the day played out behind Spector. Charles Curran of Sacramento and Albany's James Morris ran nearly identical races — Curran in 5:16:07, Morris in 5:18:51 — separated by just two minutes and 44 seconds after 26.2 miles. Curran's tracking data shows him steadily climbing through the field in the second half, while Morris drifted slightly backward from 30K onward, suggesting Curran had the stronger late-race legs. George McAlister (5:23:58), Andrzej Jonca (5:49:55), and Bruce Mauldin (6:00:56) rounded out the eight, with Mauldin — also 77 — completing a full marathon in just under six hours, no small feat at any age.