Masters Men: Sam Ives Runs Down the Field in a Breezy Twin Cities Finish

• Sam Ives wins in 2:33:12 (5:51/mi), posting the 24th-fastest men's split on the 35K–40K stretch — the surge that sealed it.
• Anthony Fryer (2:41:42) and Michael Rudolph (2:44:27) round out the podium, with Rudolph clocking the 56th-fastest men's split on the second half to climb from 79th among men at the start to 57th by the finish.
• Nathaniel Scott (4th, 2:44:41) ran the boldest early move of the top finishers, vaulting from 82nd to 59th among men at the first major checkpoint — then had to hold on as others chased him down the stretch.
• Kevin Zanker (9th, 2:50:28), at 59, became the oldest finisher in the top ten of the Masters Men field.

With a 21 mph wind cutting across the point-to-point course from Minneapolis to Saint Paul, the 1,488-man Masters field had to earn every minute on Sunday. Sam Ives, the 46-year-old from Minneapolis, did it with a well-timed hammer. He was already in the thick of the men's race — hovering around 34th to 36th among men through the middle miles — but it was the 35K–40K segment where he truly separated himself, posting the 24th-fastest men's split across that stretch. He crossed in 2:33:12 at 5:51/mi, a commanding margin over second place and a performance that would have been competitive in any era of this race.

Anthony Fryer, 49, from Eden Prairie, made his own late move count. His 44th-fastest men's split on the final 40K-to-finish stretch helped him lock up second in 2:41:42, while Michael Rudolph — one of three 40-year-olds in the top five — kept climbing all race long. Rudolph entered the second half ranked 67th among men and finished 57th, his 56th-fastest men's second-half split earning him 3rd in 2:44:27.

The fourth and fifth spots told contrasting stories. Nathaniel Scott (2:44:41) exploded out of the gates, surging from 82nd to 59th among men early, but couldn't quite shake the field in the back half, finishing just 14 seconds behind Rudolph. Brian Peterson (2:46:12) flashed the 68th-fastest men's split between 15K and 20K but faded slightly from there, ultimately landing 5th.

Dan Church, finishing 13th in 2:52:45, added a notable footnote: the St. Paul local also ran the Twin Cities 10K earlier in the weekend, placing 8th among men in that race. Racing both events in one weekend and landing in the top 15 of a 1,488-man Masters field is a story worth noting on its own.