M35-39 Wins It Going Away at the Two Cities Marathon 5K

• The winner finished in 23:43 (7:38/mi), nearly 2 minutes 50 seconds clear of 2nd-place Omar Becerra — the largest gap of the entire podium.
• Becerra vs. Cobbs vs. Vock staged the race's tightest battle: just 39 seconds separated 2nd through 4th across the line.
• Gregory Mizuno and Robert McCabe both crossed in exactly 33:07 — but the timing chips tell the story, with Mizuno edging McCabe for 9th.
• 31 men finished in the M35-39 age group, spread across a range of more than 22 minutes from first to 20th place.

The headline story in M35-39 is straightforward: the anonymous winner simply ran away from the field. A 7:38-per-mile pace on a warm November morning in Fresno — 74°F and clear — was enough to put nearly three minutes of daylight between himself and everyone else before the finish line even came into view. In a competitive age group of 31 men, that kind of margin isn't a win, it's a statement.

Behind him, the real racing happened. Omar Becerra of Sanger clocked 26:33 to claim 2nd, but Ryan Cobbs (26:59) and Bryant Vock (27:12) were right on his heels. Those three men ran within 39 seconds of each other across the entire 5K — a genuine battle that likely wasn't settled until the final stretch. Cobbs edged Vock by 13 seconds for 3rd, which is roughly the length of a city block at that pace.

The middle of the pack brought its own drama. Hector Elenes and Salvador Duron both cracked 30 minutes — 29:19 and 29:30 respectively — with Albert Corona just behind at 29:54. Then came the moment of the day for the timing crew: Gregory Mizuno and Robert McCabe both registered 33:07, but Mizuno's chip had him across the line first, claiming 9th while McCabe settled for 10th.

Further back, the field spread wide, with Anthony Bronco at 45:48 representing the last individually listed finisher — more than 22 minutes behind the winner. With 11 more finishers beyond that, M35-39 was one of the deeper age groups on the course, and every man who crossed that line earned his result in the Central Valley heat.