M35-39: Doolan Dominates, Frantz Surges Late in a Deep Fresno Field

• Alexander Doolan won the M35-39 group in 1:20:48 (6:10/mi), the class of a 112-man field.
• Peter Frantz climbed from 18th to 15th among men en route to 3rd in M35-39 (1:23:54) — a notable improvement on his 1:21:29 finish here in 2023, when he placed 9th among men.
• The gap from 1st to 4th spans just 3:40 across Doolan, Hayato Usui (1:22:20), Frantz (1:23:54), and Pablo Barbera (1:24:28) — four men within striking distance before the field spreads wide.
• After 4th place, the next finisher, Gary Mu, arrives more than 2:58 later at 1:27:26 — a clear break in the competitive tier.

Alexander Doolan, 36, out of Carnation, WA, controlled the M35-39 race wire to wire, holding 8th among men at every checkpoint and never wavering. His 6:10/mi average was a full seven seconds per mile faster than runner-up Hayato Usui (1:22:20, 6:17/mi), and that gap — 1:32 at the line — was never seriously threatened. Usui, 35, from San Jose, slipped from 9th to 11th among men between the mile and 10K marks and couldn't claw it back, finishing a clear second in the age group.

The most compelling movement in the top five belonged to Peter Frantz, 39, of Shafter, CA. He entered the 10K mark 18th among men but worked his way up to finish 15th — good for 3rd in M35-39 at 1:23:54 (6:24/mi). The context makes it richer: Frantz ran 1:21:29 here in 2023, so Sunday's result is a slower time, but his late charge and podium finish show he remains a force in this group. Pablo Barbera, 38, rounded out the podium in 4th at 1:24:28 (6:27/mi), posting one of the stronger 10K-to-finish splits in the cohort — the 15th-fastest among men on that closing stretch — after sitting 20th at the 10K.

Behind the top four, Gary Mu (1:27:26, 6:40/mi) and Aaron Tucker (1:28:25, 6:45/mi) led a competitive mid-pack, with Miguel Jimenez (1:28:42, 6:46/mi) close behind in 7th. The spread across the full 112-man field was enormous — from Doolan's 6:10 pace down to finishers well past the 8-minute-mile mark — a testament to just how broad and competitive the M35-39 group was on the streets of Fresno.