M70-74 at Shamrock'n Half Marathon: Cordano Runs Away With It

• Mike Cordano, 74, wins in 1:58:56 (9:04/mi) — the only M70-74 finisher to break two hours, with a margin of nearly 11 minutes over runner-up Steve Yee.
• Steve Yee (2:09:53) and Gil Lemmon (2:10:51) battled for the silver spot, separated by just 58 seconds across 13.1 miles.
• Gil Lemmon's early charge faded: he entered the men's field well up the leaderboard before gradually working his way back through the pack in the second half.
• A 10-man field spanning 1:13:22 from first to last — Charles Lukes (3:12:18, 14:40/mi) closing out a determined effort at the back.

Mike Cordano turned 74 and apparently decided age was not a factor. Running 9:04 per mile on a clear, breezy morning in West Sacramento, he crossed in 1:58:56 — the only man in the M70-74 group to crack the two-hour mark, and he did it with nearly 11 minutes to spare. His movement through the broader men's field told an interesting story too: he faded slightly in the middle miles before rallying hard in the back half, climbing from around 956th among the men near Mile 11 back up to 834th by the finish — a meaningful surge when legs are supposed to be giving out.

The real drama in this age group played out one step below. Steve Yee, 73, of Sacramento held a remarkably steady race — his position in the men's field barely wavered across all five checkpoints, a sign of consistent, disciplined pacing. Gil Lemmon of Dublin had other ideas early on, rocketing out of the gate and sitting well up in the broader men's field through the first few miles. But the second half told a different story: Lemmon slipped steadily through the pack, and Yee's patience nearly paid off — 58 seconds is all that separated them at the line, with Yee taking 2nd in 2:09:53 and Lemmon 3rd in 2:10:51.

Behind the podium, William Love, Jim Salter, and Ernie Bitsilly filled out the middle of the group between 2:26 and 2:34, while Jeff Garbutt, Russell Mcmahon, Steve Shumrak, and Charles Lukes rounded out all ten finishers. Every one of them covered 13.1 miles on a brisk March morning — no small thing when you're racing in your seventies.