M25-29: Steinberger Runs Away With It in Cleveland's Heat

• Gregory Steinberger, 26, wins the M25-29 half marathon in 2:16:40 (10:26/mi), leading the men's standings from wire to wire.
• Max Laskar, 29, finishes 2nd in 3:17:43 (15:05/mi), crossing more than an hour behind the leader.
• Steinberger posted the fastest 5K→10K split among the men, a standout stretch that underscored his control of the race.
• Laskar's 5K→10K was 3rd-fastest among the men — solid mid-race running that couldn't close the gap on Steinberger's early advantage.

With just two finishers in the M25-29 group, the Cleveland half marathon's 75°F morning and 68% humidity made every mile a negotiation — and Gregory Steinberger, 26, of Lyndhurst, won that negotiation decisively. He held the top men's spot at every checkpoint, never relinquishing his lead, and crossed in 2:16:40 to claim the group title.

The most interesting subplot was the 5K-to-10K stretch, where both men actually produced competitive splits relative to the broader men's field. Steinberger's was the fastest of any man on that segment — a strong mid-race push that put the result firmly out of reach. Laskar matched him in spirit if not in pace, turning the 3rd-fastest men's split on that same leg, but with Steinberger already well clear, it was a battle for personal execution rather than position.

Max Laskar, 29, of Cleveland, finished 2nd in 3:17:43 — a 15:05/mi average that reflects a tough day in the heat. The hour-plus gap between the two finishers tells the story plainly: Steinberger set a pace Laskar couldn't track, and he never looked back.