M35-39: Joel Conn Runs Down the Field for a 2:22:22 Win

• Joel Conn (2:22:22, 5:26/mi) won the M35-39 group by 24 seconds over Kenny Foster (2:22:46), with the top four all finishing under 2:25.
• Conn was a relentless closer, moving from 78th to 40th among men across the race — and posting the 21st-fastest split among all runners on the 30K–40K stretch.
• Eric Bowles (4th, 2:24:38) delivered the sharpest finishing kick of the top five, recording the 19th-fastest split in the field on the 40K-to-finish segment to nearly catch Matt Chrabot (3rd, 2:24:03).
• 692 men finished in M35-39, with 20 of them breaking 2:33.

The story of the M35-39 race was one of patient hunters. Joel Conn of Okemos, MI, began the day buried in the men's field — 78th at the 5K mark — but ran with methodical purpose, ticking off places at every checkpoint: 71st, 68th, 57th, 44th, and finally 40th at the line. His 2:22:22 at 5:26 per mile wasn't just a win; it was a sustained surge across 26.2 miles in perfect conditions.

Kenny Foster of Monument, CO, took a very different path to second place (2:22:46, 5:27/mi). He charged out hard, sitting 36th among men through the early miles and even cracking the top 30 by the halfway mark. But the back half cost him ground — he slipped to 43rd by 40K before recovering slightly to 41st at the finish. His 30th-fastest split in the field on the 15K-to-halfway segment showed he had real firepower early; holding Conn to a 24-second margin over the final kilometers was a genuine achievement.

Matt Chrabot (3rd, 2:24:03) and Eric Bowles (4th, 2:24:38) made the podium battle compelling in its own right. Chrabot was a back-half flier, climbing from 96th among men at 15K all the way to 49th at the finish. Bowles matched that energy even later, posting the 19th-fastest closing split in the entire field from 40K home — but Chrabot's earlier surge had already built a 35-second cushion that proved just enough. Scott Lankford rounded out the top five in 2:26:02, having run one of the sharper opening segments before fading slightly in the closing miles.