M60-69 Half Marathon: Levin edges Trent in a 13-second thriller

• Bob Levin (65, Elk Grove) won the M60-69 group in 2:03:54 at a 9:28/mi pace.
• John Trent (62, Reno) was just 13 seconds back in 2:04:07 — the closest margin of the three.
• Greg Mandler (62, Elk Grove) completed the trio in 2:52:48, nearly 49 minutes behind the top two.

Three men lined up for the M60-69 half marathon on a cool, foggy Sacramento morning — and two of them made it a genuine race. Bob Levin and John Trent ran nearly in lockstep through much of the course, separated at the finish by just 13 seconds across 13.1 miles. That works out to roughly one second per mile of racing — about as close as it gets without a photo finish.

Levin, 65, held the edge throughout the final stretch, crossing in 2:03:54 at a 9:28/mi average to claim the M60-69 title. Trent, three years his junior at 62, pushed hard and was rewarded with a strong second-place finish in 2:04:07 — a 9:29/mi effort that would have won on almost any other day. The two Elk Grove and Reno rivals gave the fog-draped course a genuine storyline.

Greg Mandler, also 62 and also from Elk Grove, ran his own race from start to finish. His 2:52:48 — a 13:12/mi pace — put him nearly 49 minutes behind Levin, suggesting a very different goal or day on the course. He held a steady position throughout, and he got it done.