M65-69: Terry Baucom Runs Away with It in West Sacramento

• Baucom's winning margin: 9 minutes and 57 seconds over runner-up Steve Ashe — a commanding wire-to-wire victory at a 7:12/mi average.
• Tightest battle: 3rd through 4th was settled by just 51 seconds — Pip Smith (1:46:32) edging Jose Barragan (1:47:23), both age 69 and both from the Sacramento area.
• Back of the pack: Gordon Singh (2:17:54) and Cameron Yee (2:18:05) were separated by just 11 seconds in 10th and 11th, both running nearly identical 10:31–10:32/mi paces.
• Age of the field: Four of the top five finishers are 69 years old — the oldest age in the group — making youth no advantage here.

Terry Baucom, 69, of El Dorado Hills, didn't just win the M65-69 race — he put the field in his rearview mirror almost immediately. His tracking data tells the story: he moved from 125th among the men to 117th through the early miles, then gradually settled back as the course wore on, but never relinquished control. Running 7:12 per mile across 13.1 miles on a breezy 55°F morning in West Sacramento, Baucom finished in 1:34:25 — nearly ten minutes clear of anyone else in the group.

Steve Ashe, 65, of Sacramento, was a distant but solid second in 1:43:22, running 7:53/mi and steadily dropping through the men's field as the race progressed — a sign the effort caught up with him in the back half. Still, second place in the M65-69 group was his, and a 9-minute gap to the winner is no embarrassment when the winner is running that kind of pace.

The race for the final podium spot was genuinely compelling. Pip Smith (Folsom, age 69) and Jose Barragan (Bella Vista, age 69) ran the bulk of the race in close proximity, but Smith pulled clear to claim 3rd in 1:46:32 against Barragan's 1:47:23. Notably, both men posted strong finishing splits from Mile 11 to the line — Smith's was among the better closing splits in the broader field on that segment — suggesting neither was simply hanging on at the end.

Doug Dierlam rounded out the top five in 1:54:44, followed by a tightly clustered middle pack where the gaps widened considerably. William Farran (2:00:21) and James O'Gara (2:05:18) led that next wave, with 28 men total completing the M65-69 race on a clear, comfortable morning that gave everyone a fair shot.