M65-69 Five-K: Mendoza Runs Away With It in Fresno

• Felipe Mendoza, 67, wins in 35:00 — an 11:16/mi clip that put more than 2½ minutes between him and the rest of the M65-69 field.
• Tight battle for the podium: Micheal Herman (37:34) and Dennis Huffman (38:07) were separated by just 33 seconds for 2nd and 3rd.
• Armando Silva and Geronimo Olino finished 5th and 6th within 8 seconds of each other (47:15 vs. 47:23), the closest duel of the day outside the podium.
• 12 men, age 65–69, finished on a warm Fresno morning — a 24-minute spread from first to last tells the full story of a competitive but wide-open group.

Felipe Mendoza made the race his own from the jump. Running 11:16 per mile on a 74°F morning in Fresno, the Kerman native crossed in 35:00 — a margin that left no doubt. By the time Micheal Herman came through in 37:34 for 2nd, Mendoza had already had time to catch his breath.

Herman and Dennis Huffman waged the afternoon's most compelling duel for the podium. Huffman, a Fresno local, closed to within 33 seconds of Herman at the line — close enough to keep things interesting, but Herman held on for 2nd at 37:34 to Huffman's 38:07. The gap between 3rd and 4th was considerably larger: Michael Cisneros came in at 44:15, more than six minutes back of Huffman.

Further down the field, Armando Silva (Sanger) and Geronimo Olino (Fresno) ran nearly in lockstep — Silva 5th in 47:15, Olino 6th just 8 seconds later at 47:23. Ernest Duran and Ron Steele had an eerily similar finish of their own, crossing 8th and 9th in 53:50 and 53:52 respectively, separated by a mere two seconds. Carl Aguilera of Sanger brought it home last in 59:33, rounding out all 12 finishers in the M65-69 group.