M20-29: Haroon Khan Goes the Distance Solo

• Sole finisher in the M20-29 age group across the full 25-mile course.
• 5:06:58 total at a 12:17/mile average pace through the Auburn hills.

Haroon Khan, 21, from El Dorado Hills, had the M20-29 age group entirely to himself on Saturday — but that didn't make the 25 miles any easier. He crossed the line in 5:06:58, averaging 12:17 per mile across a course that clearly had some bite to it.

The race unfolded as a measured effort for Khan. He came through the early checkpoints sitting 3rd among the men, but the second half of the course took its toll — he slid to 7th and eventually 10th in the men's field as others found another gear or he settled into his own rhythm. Still, he kept moving, and his split on the second half was the 13th-fastest among the women's field — a useful benchmark that puts his back-half pace in genuine competitive company.

At 21, finishing a 50-mile-series 25-miler on a clear April morning in the Sierra Nevada foothills is the whole story. Khan owns the M20-29 result outright.