M25-29: Broadbooks Breaks Away for a 2:14:57 Victory at CIM

• Jerod Broadbooks won the M25-29 group in 2:14:57 (5:09/mi), finishing 1:37 ahead of runner-up Jacob Shiohira.
• Broadbooks posted the 2nd-fastest men's split from 30K to 35K, the segment where he was visibly pulling clear of the field.
• Joost Plaetinck staged the most dramatic charge of the race, climbing from outside the top 70 among men at the start to 3rd in M25-29 by the finish.
• Just 10 seconds separated 4th through 7th place (2:17:21 to 2:17:32), making that cluster the tensest battle of the afternoon.

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Broadbooks, 26, from O'Fallon, MO, controlled this race with patience and then precision. He sat 17th among men at the opening checkpoint and worked steadily forward through the middle miles — but it was the 30K–35K stretch where he turned the screws, logging the 2nd-fastest men's split across that segment in the entire field. By 40K he had climbed to 7th among men and was clearly the class of the M25-29 group. His 5:09/mi average over 26.2 miles in 63°F Sacramento conditions tells the story cleanly.

Jacob Shiohira (2:16:34) and Joost Plaetinck (2:16:47) rounded out the podium, separated by just 13 seconds. Shiohira ran a measured race, hovering between 12th and 20th among men throughout before a strong 35K–40K split — 5th-fastest among men on that segment — secured 2nd. Plaetinck's story was the most compelling in the group: he was 102nd among men at 5K, seemingly out of contention, but ran one of the most relentless second halves of the day, posting the 6th-fastest men's 35K–40K split and rocketing to 16th among men at the line.

The battle for 4th through 7th was a genuine war of attrition. Scott Nelson (2:17:21), James Withers (2:17:28), Marcus Graham (2:17:31), and Emilio De La Torre (2:17:32) were separated by a total of 11 seconds across 26.2 miles. Withers was the most dramatic of the four — he had dropped as far back as 63rd among men at 5K before fighting all the way back into contention. Nelson and Withers both closed strongly, posting the 14th- and 20th-fastest men's splits respectively from 40K to the finish.