Fort Ord 25K Boys Under-18: Rylan Foster Runs Away With It

• Rylan Foster, age 13, wins the under-18 boys race in 2:19:50 (9:00/mi) — a full 10 minutes ahead of 2nd place.
• Jacob Ramirez finishes 2nd in 2:29:53, running a strong Skyline→Toro Creek segment (15th-fastest split on that stretch among the women's field) to close the gap on the leaders through the middle miles.
• Branson Bullian holds 3rd in 2:39:00 but fades on the final stretch — entering the Skyline→Toro Creek segment as high as 6th among the women's field before slipping to 24th by the finish.
• Four finishers completed the under-18 boys race on a cool, humid morning at Fort Ord.

The story of the under-18 boys race was written early and often by 13-year-old Rylan Foster of Santa Cruz. Running a 9:00/mi average across 25 kilometers of Fort Ord's trails, Foster crossed in 2:19:50 — ten minutes clear of the field. He showed his closing strength on the Toro Creek→Finish segment, posting the 9th-fastest split on that stretch among all women runners, a mark that underscores just how strong he ran to the line.

Jacob Ramirez of Seaside gave chase and earned 2nd in 2:29:53 (9:39/mi). Ramirez was a mover through the middle of the race, climbing from 18th to 15th among the women's field on the Skyline→Toro Creek leg before settling into 16th at the finish — a steady, composed effort that held off Branson Bullian for the runner-up spot.

Bullian, 14, of Santa Cruz had the most dramatic arc in the group. He was running as high as 6th among the women's field after the first segment, but the wheels turned slowly against him — he slipped to 10th by Toro Creek and 24th by the finish, crossing in 2:39:00 (10:14/mi) for 3rd. Thomas Mantha of Pleasanton rounded out the field in 3:03:12 (11:48/mi), a similar story of fading through the back half as he dropped from 11th to 50th among the women's field across the final two segments.