Fort Ord 25K Male Masters: Charmoz Dominates, Hiestand Storms the Back Half

• Alex Charmoz (41, Idyllwild) won Male Masters in 2:13:39 at an 8:36/mi average — a margin of 4:10 over runner-up John Hiestand.
• John Hiestand (57, Monterey) posted the 4th-fastest Toro Creek→Finish split and climbed from 13th to 5th among men on that final stretch alone, sealing 2nd in 2:17:49.
• Gino Signoracci claimed the 4th-fastest Skyline→Toro Creek split among men, vaulting to 6th in the men's field at that checkpoint before fading to 4th in Male Masters by the finish.
• Roger Fabing (69, Lompoc) finished 10th in Male Masters in 2:48:00 — the oldest finisher in the listed field by more than a decade.

Alex Charmoz ran the kind of race that makes the result look inevitable. Holding 4th among men through the first two checkpoints, he shifted gears on the Toro Creek→Finish segment, producing the 3rd-fastest split on that stretch among men, and crossed in 2:13:39 — a pace that left the rest of the Masters field chasing shadows. His 4:10 cushion over second place was the largest gap between any two consecutive podium spots in the listed results.

The real drama unfolded behind him. John Hiestand, a 57-year-old running on home turf in Monterey, was buried in 13th among men at the first checkpoint. He reeled off the 4th-fastest Toro Creek→Finish split in the men's field and rocketed to 5th among men by the tape — a charge that earned him 2nd in Male Masters in 2:17:49. Kris Kent (46, Pleasant Hill) was steadier throughout, sitting 12th among men at both mid-checkpoints and closing in 2:20:46 for 3rd.

Gino Signoracci told a different story. He was flying through the middle of the race — 6th among men after Skyline, powered by the 4th-fastest Skyline→Toro Creek split in the men's field — but couldn't sustain it, drifting back to 13th among men at the finish and landing 4th in Male Masters at 2:22:30. Siddhartha Hamilton (56) rounded out the top five in 2:29:53, while the back of the listed field brought its own highlight: Roger Fabing, 69 years old and representing Lompoc, finished 10th in a field of 57 Masters men, crossing in 2:48:00 on a damp, cool morning at Fort Ord.