M75-79: Orozco leads a field of five to the finish in Fresno

• Miguel Orozco (76, Castroville) won the M75-79 age group in 40:44 at a 13:07/mi pace, finishing 1:36 ahead of runner-up David Cortez.
• David Cortez (78, Fresno) claimed second in 42:20 (13:38/mi), holding a comfortable 6:56 cushion over third place.
• Benjamin Duran (75, Merced) took third in 49:16 (15:51/mi), with Ron Jefferson (79, Dinuba) rounding out the top four in 53:07.
• Mike Podsakoff (78, Fresno) completed the five-man field in 1:18:01, crossing the line and closing out the M75-79 group.

Miguel Orozco made the trip from Castroville worth every mile, winning the M75-79 age group in 40:44 at a crisp 13:07/mi. At 76, he was neither the oldest nor the youngest in the group, but he was clearly the sharpest on race day, building a 1:36 margin over the next finisher in just 5 kilometers.

David Cortez, racing in his home city of Fresno, gave Orozco the closest push of the day, finishing second in 42:20. His 13:38/mi pace was noticeably slower than Orozco's, and that gap widened enough over 3.1 miles to make the result clear. Cortez nonetheless held a commanding 6:56 gap over Benjamin Duran, who came in third from Merced in 49:16 at 15:51/mi.

Ron Jefferson, the oldest in the field at 79, crossed in 53:07 to take fourth — a genuine effort from a Dinuba runner who came to Fresno and got it done. Mike Podsakoff, also 78 and a local Fresno runner, completed the group in 1:18:01, finishing more than 24 minutes behind Podsakoff's fellow septuagenarian Jefferson but earning his finisher's result on a Sunday morning in October.

Five men in their mid-to-late seventies lined up and all five finished. That alone is worth noting — and Orozco's 40:44 at the front of that group is the number that will stand in the results.