M65-69: Silverman Dominates on Fresno's Flat, Fast Course

• Alex Silverman won the M65-69 group in 3:14:03 (7:24/mi), finishing nearly 50 minutes clear of second place.
• Mykhaylo Skitsak took second in 4:03:32, edging Yi Feng (third, 4:12:57) by just under 10 minutes.
• Randy Comfort (4th, 4:38:22) and Dean Williams (5th, 4:59:04) rounded out the mid-pack, with Richard Newton completing the six-man field in 5:35:49.
• Silverman posted the 30th-fastest split in the men's field on the 23M–25.2M stretch — a strong late-race push that helped him climb from 84th to 50th among men over the final miles.

Alex Silverman's performance was in a class of its own among the M65-69 runners. His 3:14:03 at a 7:24/mi average is the kind of time that turns heads on any marathon course — and on Two Cities' flat, USATF-certified, Boston-qualifier layout, he made the most of every fast mile. His progression through the men's field tells the full story: he moved from 84th among men at the early checkpoints all the way up to 50th by the finish, steadily picking off runners as the race wore on.

The battle for second and third was considerably more measured. Skitsak, 65, ran a disciplined 9:17/mi to finish in 4:03:32, while Feng, 67, came in at 4:12:57 (9:39/mi). The gap between them held fairly steady — no dramatic late surge changed the order. Comfort (4:38:22, 10:37/mi) and Williams (4:59:04, 11:24/mi) kept moving through the second half, with Williams notably climbing from 357th among men at one checkpoint all the way to 292nd by the finish — a quiet but steady late-race push. Newton closed out the six-man group in 5:35:49 at 12:48/mi.

Six finishers, one dominant performance, and a full spread from 3:14 to 5:35 — the M65-69 group at Two Cities 2024 showed the full range of what this age group brings to a marathon.