M30-39: Fagundes dominates from wire to wire at Jed Smith Ultra Classic

• Anthony Fagundes won the M30-39 group in 5:23:59 (6:29/mi), leading among the men from the opening segment to the finish and posting the fastest men's split on the Out & Back→Lap 1 leg.
• Eric Neill was a distant but clear runner-up at 5:46:55 (6:56/mi) — holding 2nd among the men every step of the way, finishing 22:56 behind Fagundes.
• Richard Lertora was the group's biggest mover, climbing from 14th among the men at the first checkpoint all the way to 7th by the finish, clocking the 5th-fastest men's split on the Lap 9→Finish stretch in 7:25:37.
• Ivan Ruiz improved dramatically on his 2025 showing — finishing 5th in M30-39 at 7:45:44 (9:19/mi), nearly 1:48 faster than his 9:33:16 from a year ago.

Anthony Fagundes ran the kind of race that leaves little to discuss at the front — he was 1st among the men at every single checkpoint, never relinquishing so much as a moment of pressure. His 5:23:59 at a 6:29/mi clip in Sacramento's dense fog and 93% humidity was a wire-to-wire statement. Eric Neill (36, Davis) matched that steadiness in his own right, sitting 2nd among the men from start to finish and never wavering, crossing in 5:46:55 at 6:56/mi. The gap between them was real and consistent — nearly 23 minutes — but Neill's lockdown race was its own accomplishment in a field of seven.

The back half of the M30-39 group told a livelier story. Melvin Nyairo (Sacramento) held his position well through the middle laps before finishing 3rd in 7:20:32, while Richard Lertora (Sonora) was quietly hunting places all afternoon. Starting 14th among the men, Lertora moved steadily through the field and saved his best for last, posting the 5th-fastest men's split on the Lap 9→Finish segment to land 4th in 7:25:37 — just 5:05 behind Nyairo.

Ivan Ruiz (Lincoln) delivered one of the more satisfying redemption arcs of the day. After finishing in 9:33:16 at this same race in 2025, he came back sharper, crossing 5th in M30-39 at 7:45:44 — nearly an hour and forty-eight minutes faster. Numoakyi Ngissah (Carmichael) rounded out the top six in 7:48:32 (9:22/mi), just 2:48 behind Ruiz, while Manny Ballesteros (Placerville) completed all 50 miles in 9:41:48 to close out the seven-man group.