Two Cities Marathon 5K — F75-79: Black Sets the Pace in a Local Showdown

• Gayle Black (Clovis, CA) won the F75-79 age group in 49:34 at a 15:57/mi pace — nearly three minutes clear of second place.
• Margaret Jefferson (Dinuba, CA) took second in 52:25 (16:52/mi), finishing 2:51 behind Black.
• Rita Gladding and Patricia Felton — both age 76, both from Fresno/Clovis — finished third and fourth separated by just one second: 1:08:53 and 1:08:54.

Four women in the 75-to-79 age group toed the line in Fresno on October 29th, and Gayle Black made her presence felt from the start. The 75-year-old from Clovis crossed in 49:34 at a 15:57/mi pace, claiming the age group win with a comfortable cushion. Margaret Jefferson of Dinuba ran a solid 52:25 (16:52/mi) to secure second — a meaningful gap behind Black, but a clear margin over the rest of the field.

Then came the race within the race. Rita Gladding (Fresno, 1:08:53) and Patricia Felton (Clovis, 1:08:54) finished third and fourth separated by a single second — the kind of finish that makes you wish you'd been watching the clock at the line. Both women were running at roughly 22:10–22:11/mi, and whatever separated them at the finish was settled in the final strides. Gladding edged it for third; Felton had to settle for fourth by the narrowest of margins.

Four finishers, two distinct races unfolding on the same course: Black's commanding wire-to-wire performance at the front, and a back-of-the-podium battle that went down to the last second. All four women completing a 5K at 75 years and older is the real headline — the times just tell the story of how it happened.