M50-54 at CIM 2025: Mika Runs Down the Win in 2:37

• Shad Mika, 50, wins the M50-54 group in 2:37:04 (5:59/mi), edging Rick Mccray by just 26 seconds.
• Rick Mccray (2:37:30, 6:00/mi) ran the 25K–30K stretch among the fastest in the men's field on that segment, but couldn't quite close the gap to the front.
• Marco Capelli rounds out the podium in 2:42:42 (6:12/mi) — more than five minutes behind Mika, with Jason Ryf (4th, 2:43:27) and Kenneth Wegener (5th, 2:43:51) bunched tightly behind him.
• 368 men finished in the M50-54 age group, with the top 20 all breaking 3:00.

On a cool, damp Sacramento morning — 46°F and 86% humidity — Shad Mika of Westminster, CO navigated a tactically interesting race. His men's field position swung around considerably through the early miles, drifting back as far as 343rd among men at the half before he reeled runners in over the final stretch, ultimately landing 302nd among men at the line. The result that mattered most: first in M50-54, in 2:37:04 — a 5:59/mi average that held up when it counted.

Rick Mccray of Carson, CA pushed hard through the middle of the race, posting a notably fast 25K–30K split and moving steadily through the men's field from 314th at the start to 276th by 30K. But the back half proved more costly — he drifted to 315th among men by the finish — and Mika's cushion of 26 seconds was enough to hold him off. It was a genuine contest between two men running sub-6:00 pace in their early 50s.

Marco Capelli, the 53-year-old from El Dorado Hills, CA, ran a measured but consistent race, holding a steady position deep in the men's field throughout and finishing in 2:42:42. Behind him, Jason Ryf (4th, 2:43:27) and Kenneth Wegener (5th, 2:43:51) were separated by just 24 seconds, with Ryf posting a strong 40K-to-finish split to secure the edge. Carlos Gomez (6th, 2:44:27) and Tao Chen (7th, 2:46:41) continued a competitive top ten, while all 20 listed finishers came in under 3:00 — a strong collective showing across a 368-man field.