M20-24: Lanternier edges Founds in a sub-2:24 duel at CIM

• Samuel Lanternier won the M20-24 group in 2:23:15 (5:28/mi), edging Matthew Founds — also 5:28/mi — by just 8 seconds.
• Ryan Alexander rounded out the podium in 2:25:07, with the top three separated by under two minutes in a field of 129.
• The 4th-through-6th places compressed into a 19-second window: Gregorio Flores (2:26:43), Nicholas Turco (2:26:59), and Patrick Wachter (2:27:02).
• Lanternier and Founds both posted the 35th- and 39th-fastest 30K–40K splits among the men, signaling a strong late-race surge from both.

Cool, calm conditions — 57°F with a gentle 4 mph breeze — set the table for fast times, and the M20-24 group delivered. Samuel Lanternier, 24, of Boulder, came through the first half in measured fashion, sitting 64th among the men before steadily climbing the leaderboard. By the 30K–40K stretch he was moving with purpose, and he crossed the line in 2:23:15 at 5:28/mi to claim the age-group title.

Matthew Founds, 22, of Fresno, matched Lanternier stride for stride in the aggregate — both averaged 5:28/mi — but the Boulder runner had just enough. Founds tracked a nearly identical trajectory, climbing from 85th among the men at the first checkpoint all the way to 47th by the finish, and his 8-second deficit at the line was the full margin between first and second. That gap is ruthlessly thin over 26.2 miles.

Ryan Alexander of Palmdale ran a different kind of race. He was actually 52nd among the men early on before slipping back through the middle miles, but he held his form well enough to finish 3rd in the M20-24 group in 2:25:07 (5:32/mi) — 1:52 back of Lanternier and comfortably clear of the chase pack. Behind him, Flores, Turco, and Wachter waged a three-way battle that wasn't settled until the final miles, with all three clocking 5:36/mi and finishing within 19 seconds of each other.

Further back, the depth of the age group was on full display: Jordan Bramblett (8th, 2:31:20), Shota Nakamura (9th, 2:32:05), and Spencer Husen (10th, 2:33:22) all broke 2:34, and the field stretched across 129 finishers. It was a legitimate front-to-back performance by one of the youngest and fastest groups on the course.