M70-74 Half Marathon: Kunz Conquers Fresno's Heat for the Win

• Michael Kunz (71, Fresno) took the M70-74 title in 2:05:06 — a 9:33/mi pace that put him well clear of the field on a warm 74°F morning.
• Podium separated by just 2:45: Steve Behlen finished 2nd in 2:07:17 and Doug Fraleigh 3rd in 2:07:51 — a 34-second gap between them after 13.1 miles.
• Nine M70-74 runners finished, spanning from Kunz's 2:05:06 to Arnoldo Vargas's 3:16:56 — a range of over 71 minutes across the age group.
• Don Rickels (4th, 2:22:45) and Timothy Geddert (5th, 2:28:40) ran the middle of the race well but couldn't close the gap to the podium trio.

Michael Kunz made a statement on a warm Fresno morning, covering the half marathon at 9:33/mi to win the M70-74 group in 2:05:06. The 71-year-old from Fresno was moving steadily through the men's field as the race wore on — climbing from 400th to 368th among men in the back half — and his 9:33 pace held up well in the 74°F heat to put real daylight between himself and the rest of the age group.

Behind him, Steve Behlen (73, Clovis) and Doug Fraleigh (70, Fresno) staged the most compelling battle of the day in M70-74. Behlen ran the early miles aggressively, sitting well up the men's field in the opening segment before fading slightly in the back half. Fraleigh took a different route — starting more conservatively before reeling in ground through the middle miles. Both men ultimately arrived close: Behlen in 2:07:17 (9:43/mi) and Fraleigh in 2:07:51 (9:45/mi), separated by just 34 seconds. Fraleigh's stronger second-half push nearly erased Behlen's early advantage, but Behlen held on for 2nd.

Don Rickels (74, Clovis) was a steady presence in 4th at 2:22:45, while Timothy Geddert (73, Fresno) followed in 5th at 2:28:40 — both running well within the field's mid-pack. Rogers Speer (72, Oakhurst) finished 6th in 2:41:36, Tom Kozera (73, Clovis) 7th in 2:44:26, Pedro Segura (73, Delano) 8th in 2:59:34, and Arnoldo Vargas (72, Clovis) rounded out the nine-man group in 3:16:56. Every one of them crossed the line in Fresno's morning heat — no small thing at 70-plus.