Two Cities Half Marathon: Fuentes Leads the M75-79 Charge

• Arnold Fuentes, 76, won the M75-79 group in 2:31:45 (11:35/mi), finishing ahead of the only other entrant in the age group.
• John Hollingsworth, 77, finished 2nd in 2:59:49 (13:43/mi) — 28 minutes and 4 seconds back.
• Hollingsworth gained ground late, climbing from 670th to 655th among men over the final stretch, picking up 15 spots on the broader men's field across the race.

Just two men toed the line in the M75-79 group at the Two Cities Half Marathon, but they represented something worth noting: a 76-year-old and a 77-year-old covering 13.1 miles through Fresno in October. That alone earns the spotlight.

Fuentes set the pace from the start and never let up, running 11:35 per mile on his way to a 2:31:45 finish. His gender place tells a story of a race run in two gears — he moved from 393rd to 545th among men, meaning the broader men's field gradually pulled away as the race wore on. But he held his own age-group lead from wire to wire, and a 2:31 half marathon at 76 is a number that speaks for itself.

Hollingsworth, a year older at 77, crossed in 2:59:49 — a 13:43/mi pace — finishing 28 minutes and 4 seconds behind Fuentes. Where Fuentes faded slightly against the men's field, Hollingsworth actually moved in the other direction late in the race, gaining positions from 670th down to 655th among men between the 10K mark and the finish. It was a quiet but real show of endurance in the back half, including a split on the 10K-to-finish segment that ranked 647th among men.

Two finishers, two Fresno-area athletes, and a combined age of 153. The M75-79 group may have been small, but the effort was anything but.