Masters Men 10K: Curtis Laps the Field in 36:34

• Courtney Curtis, 41, wins in 36:34 (5:53/mi) — nearly six minutes clear of 2nd place and the 4th-fastest men's split from 1M to the finish.
• Brian Kiler, 47, runs 42:30 for 2nd — a return to the Two Cities 10K podium after finishing 5th here in 2023 (41:54), this time stepping up two spots.
• Chuck Fiorentino, 68, charges to 5th in 48:29 — the most dramatic move of the race, climbing from 29th to 19th among men on the final segment before landing 5th in the Masters field.
• 4-second battle for 3rd: Jorge Benitez (45:04) edges Dustin Stubbs (45:08) for the final podium spot.

Courtney Curtis made the Masters Men 10K look like a training run. His 36:34 — a 5:53/mi clip — put him nearly six minutes ahead of the next Masters finisher and earned him the 4th-fastest men's split on the 1M-to-finish stretch across the entire men's field. From gun to tape, he held 2nd among men and never wavered. In a 96-finisher Masters field, it was a wire-to-wire statement.

Brian Kiler, 47, made the trip from San Carlos worthwhile, clocking 42:30 for 2nd place. Those who followed his 41:54 fifth-place finish here in 2023 will note he came back a year later, moved up two spots on the podium, and did it at age 47. The 6:50/mi average held the 9th-fastest men's split on the closing stretch — a composed, well-executed run.

The fight for 3rd was the race's tightest moment. Jorge Benitez, 42, of Clovis crossed in 45:04 at 7:15/mi, with Dustin Stubbs, 48, just four seconds back at 45:08 (7:16/mi). Stubbs actually posted the 12th-fastest closing split among men to Benitez's 13th, meaning Stubbs was the one making up ground — he just ran out of real estate.

The story of the back half of the top ten belongs to Chuck Fiorentino, 68, of Arroyo Grande. Sitting 29th among men at the one-mile mark, he reeled in competitor after competitor on the closing stretch — posting the 20th-fastest men's split on that segment — and finished 5th in the Masters field in 48:29. At 68, that kind of late-race surge is worth every bit of attention it gets.