M70-74 at the San Francisco Marathon: Mori Commands the Field

• Mitsugu Mori, 70, wins M70-74 in 4:28:41 (10:15/mi) — more than 30 minutes clear of the field.
• Hongder Lin edges Larry George for 2nd: 4:59:07 vs. 5:04:28 — a 5:21 gap after 26.2 miles through the San Francisco fog.
• Dennis Herzig, 5th in 5:27:16, posted a steady late surge — his gender place climbed from 2,845 near the start to 2,541 by the finish, one of the more consistent upward moves in the group.
• 14 finishers completed the M70-74 race in conditions that were cool but heavy — 54°F and 94% humidity.

Mitsugu Mori of Seaside, CA, made the M70-74 race his own from the opening miles. Running a 10:15/mi average, he crossed in 4:28:41 — a margin of 30:26 over second place that left no doubt about who owned this field. His gender-place trajectory tells a nuanced story: he moved steadily back through the broader men's field as the race wore on, which is simply the nature of a 70-year-old running conservatively smart on San Francisco's demanding course, but his M70-74 rivals never came close.

Behind Mori, the real contest was for the podium. Hongder Lin of La Jolla held off Larry George of Potomac, MD, finishing 2nd in 4:59:07 to George's 5:04:28. George actually ran a stronger early race — his gender place improved from 2,342 to 2,225 in the opening stretch while Lin was falling back — but Lin's steadier middle miles kept enough of a cushion that George's late rally fell short by 5:21.

Marco Andrade (4th, 5:19:39) and Dennis Herzig (5th, 5:27:16) were separated by just 7:37, with Herzig's late-race momentum — climbing from near the back of the broader men's field all the way through — making him one of the more interesting movers in the group. Bob Ulloa (6th, 5:28:28) and Roy Chen (7th, 5:30:48) were separated by barely two minutes in a tight cluster just behind.

The back half of the field stretched from Mohammed Miradi's 5:42:09 in 8th through Joe Cordova's 6:20:06 in 14th — a span of nearly 38 minutes across seven finishers, each of them completing 26.2 miles through a cool, damp San Francisco morning. All 14 got it done.