M75-79: Ulloa Leads Wire to Wire in San Francisco

• Bob Ulloa (age 76, Porterville) won M75-79 in 5:38:54 (12:56/mi), the fastest of four finishers in the group.
• Roy Chen (age 76, San Jose) took 2nd in 6:07:43 — 28:49 behind Ulloa — with Joe Cordova (age 77, La Puente) just 3:11 back in 3rd at 6:10:54.
• Wilford Smith (age 77, San Leandro) completed all 26.2 miles in 7:30:42 (17:11/mi) to claim 4th.
• Four men aged 76–77 finished a full marathon in San Francisco's 59°F, breezy conditions — that alone is the headline.

Bob Ulloa set the tone from the gun. His gender-place progression — moving from roughly 3,069th to 4,500th among all men as the field spread across the course — reflects a steady, controlled effort at 12:56/mi rather than any dramatic fade. He never relinquished the M75-79 lead, and his nearly 29-minute cushion over Roy Chen by the finish line tells the story of a race run on his own terms.

Behind him, Chen and Cordova waged the day's tightest battle. Chen crossed in 6:07:43 and Cordova in 6:10:54 — a gap of just over three minutes after more than six hours of racing through San Francisco's hills and 15 mph winds. Cordova showed some life on the 14M–16M stretch, posting a stronger split there than Chen on that segment, but it wasn't quite enough to close the gap that had built earlier in the race.

Wilford Smith ran his own race entirely. His gender-place trajectory — barely moving from 5,104th to 5,052th across the entire course — is a portrait of almost eerie consistency. He ran 17:11/mi from start to finish and gave up no meaningful ground relative to the broader field over the final miles. At 7:30:42, he finished an hour behind Ulloa, but he finished — 26.2 miles complete at age 77 in one of America's most demanding urban marathons.