M55-59 Half Marathon: Schlottman dominates in Napa cold

• Keith Schlottman, 57, wins M55-59 in 1:33:44 (7:09/mi) — a margin of 6:06 over runner-up David Fu.
• Tightest battle of the day: Michael George (3rd, 1:40:13) and Chi Wa Eric Lee (4th, 1:40:26) finished just 13 seconds apart — but Lee ran the 6.9M-to-Finish segment faster (110th-fastest men's split vs. George's 131st), making up ground in the back half without quite closing the gap.
• Biggest late mover: Lee also advanced from 133rd to 121st among men on that final stretch — the sharpest men's-field climb of any top-5 finisher in M55-59.
• Field depth: 50 finishers completed the M55-59 race in 37°F morning conditions, with the top 20 ranging from 1:33:44 down to 1:58:56.

With the temperature sitting at 37°F and humidity near 90% at the gun, Napa's morning chill set the stage for a brisk race — and Keith Schlottman, representing Flagstaff, ran right through it. His 1:33:44 at a 7:09/mi clip was the class of the M55-59 field from wire to wire, and his 6:06 cushion over second place was never seriously threatened. His 78th-fastest men's split on the 6.9M-to-Finish stretch confirmed he held his pace through the back half with no sign of fading.

David Fu (Sunnyvale) claimed second in 1:39:50 at 7:37/mi, and the real drama unfolded just behind him. Michael George, racing on home turf in Napa, crossed third in 1:40:13 — but Chi Wa Eric Lee of Seattle was breathing down his neck, finishing fourth in 1:40:26 after running the strongest closing segment of anyone in the top five. Lee's 110th-fastest men's split on that final stretch was notably quicker than George's 131st, and his surge lifted him from 133rd to 121st among men — a catch-up that fell just 13 seconds short of a podium spot. Lawrence Getman (Cupertino) rounded out the top five in 1:41:16, followed by Ben Sacks (1:41:49) and Mark Lantz (1:42:19) in a tightly packed middle tier.

Further back, the field spread across a wide range of efforts: Daniel Pellegrini (8th, 1:42:38), Russell Forrester (9th, 1:43:19), and Hector Sauri (10th, 1:43:40) kept the competition honest through the top ten, while Brian Byun's 1:58:56 closed out the listed finishers in 20th — a span of more than 25 minutes across the top twenty alone, testament to the variety of pace and ambition that defines this group.