San Francisco 10K: Friedman rules the M75-79 field

• Steven Friedman, 79, wins in 1:17:47 — a 12:31/mi pace that put nearly 13 minutes of clear air between him and the rest of the M75-79 field.
• Brian Goodyear claimed 2nd in 1:30:18, finishing 12:31 ahead of 3rd-place Dennis Mori (1:38:06).
• Dennis Mori and Chuck Miller rounded out the four-man field in 1:38:06 and 1:43:09 respectively — separated by just over five minutes at the line.

Four men in their mid-to-late seventies toed the line in San Francisco's cool, damp morning — 55°F and 93% humidity under overcast skies along the bay — and Steven Friedman, the eldest of the group at 79, made it look like a statement. His 1:17:47 finish at a 12:31/mi clip was the clear class of the M75-79 field, and no one came close to threatening it.

Brian Goodyear, 77, made the trip from Honolulu to earn 2nd in 1:30:18 — a 14:32/mi average that left him 12 minutes and 31 seconds behind the winner but a comfortable 7:48 clear of 3rd. Dennis Mori, 75 and racing on home turf out of San Leandro, crossed in 1:38:06 at 15:47/mi to take 3rd, while fellow Honolulu traveler Chuck Miller, also 77, finished 4th in 1:43:09 — covering the 10K at 16:36/mi.

The real story here is Friedman's dominance. Running more than a minute per mile faster than anyone else in this field, the 79-year-old wasn't just the oldest man in the M75-79 group — he was the fastest by a margin that made the result feel settled long before the finish line.