M40-44 at CIM 2018: Krieg Runs Away With It

• Sam Krieg wins M40-44 in 2:26:29 (5:35/mi), nearly three minutes clear of runner-up Michael Johnson (2:29:18).
• Top-five separated by under five minutes: Johnson (2nd, 2:29:18), Favela (3rd, 2:29:59), Clark (4th, 2:30:38), and Parrish (5th, 2:31:22) all finished within 2:04 of each other.
• 604 men finished in M40-44, making it one of the deepest age groups on the course on a crisp, calm Sacramento morning.
• Strong late finishers: Johnson climbed from 182nd to 154th among men over the final stretch; Parrish moved from 229th to 175th among men across the full race.

Sam Krieg, 42, of Pocatello, Idaho, was in a class of his own in the M40-44 group. Running 5:35 per mile from the gun, he crossed in 2:26:29 — a margin of victory that was never seriously in doubt. His position among the men's field barely shifted through the second half of the race, hovering around 121st, a sign of a remarkably even, controlled effort on a day that offered near-perfect conditions: 53°F, calm winds, and scattered clouds over Sacramento.

Behind Krieg, the race for the podium was a genuine battle. Michael Johnson, 40, of Sacramento, was the story of the back half — he ran the 35K–40K segment as the 87th-fastest among men at that point, climbing steadily from 184th to 154th among men and finishing in 2:29:18 to claim 2nd in M40-44. Emisael Favela, 41, of Berwyn, Illinois, posted one of the stronger 30K–35K splits in the men's field and crossed in 2:29:59 — just 41 seconds behind Johnson for 3rd.

Doron Clark (4th, 2:30:38) and Ryan Parrish (5th, 2:31:22) rounded out the top five, with Parrish's journey from 229th among men at the opening checkpoint all the way to 175th by the finish standing out as one of the more impressive progressive runs in the group. Wayne Blas (6th, 2:32:15) and Brian Wakefield (7th, 2:33:06) were close behind, while further back, Charles Graysmark, Mario Campos, and Brian Forbes all came through in the 2:39s, separated by just 15 seconds across 13th through 15th place.