Elite Men at CIM 2024: Weldlibanos Dominates from Gun to Tape

• Tsegay Weldlibanos won the Elite Men's race in 2:07:35 (4:52/mi), leading wire-to-wire through every checkpoint across 42 finishers.
• CJ Albertson held 2nd from start to finish, crossing in 2:10:07 — 2:32 back, but the strongest closer in the field with the fastest split from 40K to the finish.
• Nick Hauger was the day's biggest mover, climbing from 7th at 5K all the way to 3rd at the finish in 2:11:55, posting the 2nd-fastest second-half split in the men's field.
• Robert Miranda, just 24, ran a tactically aggressive middle — sitting 3rd from the halfway mark through 25K — before settling into 4th in 2:12:08, 13 seconds behind Hauger.

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Tsegay Weldlibanos made this race look straightforward. The Flagstaff-based 28-year-old sat at the front of the men's field from the opening kilometer and never relinquished it, clocking 2:07:35 at a 4:52/mi average on a mild Sacramento morning — 59°F, barely a breath of wind, and scattered clouds keeping the sun off. He also posted the fastest men's split from 5K through 10K, a sign he wasn't just sitting on the lead but actively pushing the pace early.

CJ Albertson was a steady, relentless presence in 2nd for the entire 26.2 miles. He never challenged Weldlibanos for the lead, but he never cracked either, and his fastest 40K-to-finish split in the men's field showed he had something left when others were fading. His 2:10:07 was a convincing runner-up performance in a competitive Elite Men's field.

The most compelling subplot was Nick Hauger's second-half surge. Starting 7th at the first checkpoint, the fellow Flagstaff runner worked his way methodically through the field — 5th by 10K, holding there through 30K — before finally breaking into the top three in the closing miles. His 2nd-fastest second-half split in the men's field tells the story: Hauger ran the back half better than almost anyone, finishing in 2:11:55.

Behind the podium, Tai Smith delivered the most dramatic early move of the day, charging from 13th at 5K up to 4th by the 20K mark before settling back to 5th at the line in 2:13:27. Donald Cowart, 39, was the elder statesman of the top ten, finishing 7th in 2:13:50 — a strong result in a field that skewed considerably younger.