Masters Men at CIM 2024: Simpson Runs Away with It

• Jason Simpson, 40, wins in 2:24:45 (5:31/mi) — more than three minutes clear of the field in a Masters Men race of 2,225 finishers.
• Korey Larson, 2nd in 2:27:57, surged through the back half, climbing from 115th among the women's field at 5K all the way to 87th by the finish — the most dramatic forward march on the podium.
• Corey Baxter (3rd, 2:30:14) and Tim Comay (4th, 2:30:48) were separated by just 34 seconds after 26.2 miles, with Baxter posting the 92nd-fastest split among women between 20K and the half to build his edge.
• Sanjay Rawal, 50, finished 6th in 2:32:56 — the standout age outlier on a podium otherwise populated by 40- and 41-year-olds running sub-5:52 pace.

Jason Simpson made the Masters Men title look straightforward. The Boulder, CO runner held a steady hand on the throttle — 5:31 per mile for 26.2 miles — and crossed in 2:24:45, a margin of 3:12 over second place that left little drama at the front. His position among the women's field tells a subtler story: he moved from 66th at 5K all the way up to 57th by the finish, steadily reeling in runners throughout the second half and posting the 60th-fastest split among the women between 25K and 30K along the way.

Behind him, Korey Larson was the race's most compelling mover. The Norman, OK runner sat 115th among the women's field through the opening 5K, then climbed relentlessly — 99th, 97th, 95th — before surging to 87th by 40K and holding that position to the tape in 2:27:57. His 57th-fastest split among women from 40K to the finish signals he saved something for the closing miles and used it.

Third through fifth played out in a tight cluster. Corey Baxter of Fairfield, CA crossed in 2:30:14 at 5:44/mi, with Tim Comay (Walnut Creek, CA) 34 seconds back in 2:30:48, and Ben Keck (Redding, CA) another 57 seconds behind in 2:31:45. Keck, notably, had climbed as high as 112th among the women by 30K before fading slightly to 122nd at the line — suggesting he pushed hard through the middle miles and paid a small price late.

The depth of this field across 2,225 finishers was underscored by the age range at the top. Sanjay Rawal, a 50-year-old from Jamaica, NY, ran 2:32:56 — 5:50 per mile — to finish 6th, ahead of a cluster of 40-year-olds. Three runners (Rawal, Enrique Aquino Cicero, and Tesfaye Wosene) finished within 13 seconds of each other between 6th and 8th place, all clocking 5:50/mi, with John Damen and Pedro Aquino both stopping the clock at 2:35:21 for 16th and 17th. The field ran hard on a mild December morning in Sacramento, and the times at every level of the top 20 reflect it.