M35-39 at CIM 2019: Sayenko Runs Away With It

• Mike Sayenko, 35, wins the M35-39 group in 2:17:46 (5:15/mi), finishing more than 1:45 ahead of runner-up Erik Teig.
• Teig (2:19:31) and Prescott Leach (2:19:33) separated by just two seconds for 2nd and 3rd — the closest battle on the entire podium.
• Darryl Brown charged from 88th among men at 5K all the way to 31st by the halfway mark, posting the fastest first-half split among men in this group (23rd-fastest in the men's field).
• 647 finishers toed the line in M35-39, making it one of the deepest age groups on the course on a cool, rainy December morning in Sacramento.

Mike Sayenko put on a masterclass in controlled aggression. Starting the race 38th among men, he steadily carved through the field — sitting 22nd by 5K, 19th by 10K, and ultimately settling into 16th among men by the finish. His 5:15/mi average on a wet, windy day is the kind of number that commands respect, and his 10th-fastest split among men on the 35K-to-40K stretch showed he still had something left in the tank when others were beginning to fade. The Snohomish, WA runner left no doubt at the front of the M35-39 field.

Behind him, the battle for silver and bronze was almost cruelly close. Erik Teig of Boise finished 2nd in 2:19:31, and Prescott Leach of Waltham crossed in 2:19:33 — two seconds covering two athletes who ran 26.2 miles in the rain. Teig had a strong middle stretch, posting the 27th-fastest split among men from the half to 25K, while Leach did his best work early, matching that same 27th-fastest ranking on the opening 5K-to-10K segment. Both ran 5:19/mi averages; the margin between them came down to execution in the final miles.

Darryl Brown's first-half surge was the most dramatic positional move of the race — climbing from 88th among men at 5K all the way to 31st by halfway, backing it with the 23rd-fastest first-half split in the men's field. He couldn't quite sustain it, slipping back to 61st among men at the line, but his 2:20:18 (5:21/mi) was still good for 4th in M35-39. Daniel Glaz rounded out the top five in 2:20:53, while Scott Lankford (2:22:42) and Randy Arriola (2:22:50) ran nearly stride for stride to claim 6th and 7th.