Napa Valley Marathon M35-39: Donofrio Dominates with a Sub-2:30 Charge

• Vince Donofrio (Oakland, age 36) won the M35-39 field in 2:29:55 (5:43/mi), posting the 5th-fastest men's closing split from 20M to the finish.
• Craig Taylor finished 2nd in 2:32:21 (5:49/mi), running the 7th-fastest men's split from 10K to 13.1M.
• Places 4–6 were decided in a span of just 15 seconds — 2:43:28 to 2:43:43 — with three runners from three different cities.
• Joe Mariska made the biggest charge of the day, climbing from 24th among men at 10K all the way to 19th by the finish — and backing it with the 11th-fastest men's closing split.

In a field of 130 finishers, Vince Donofrio ran away with the M35-39 race in convincing fashion. His 2:29:55 — 5:43 per mile — put him nearly two and a half minutes clear of 2nd place, and his 5th-fastest men's split from mile 20 to the finish shows he didn't just hold on; he closed. Moving from 8th among all men at the 10K mark up to 7th by the halfway point and holding it through to the tape, Donofrio ran a controlled, confident race on a crisp 42-degree morning in Napa.

Craig Taylor (Redondo Beach, 35) ran a strong middle section — his 7th-fastest men's split from 10K to the half — to lock in 2nd place in 2:32:21, a clear 2:26 ahead of 3rd. Sam Robinson (Oakland, 38) rounded out the podium in 2:41:00, quietly climbing from 20th among men at the 10K to 15th by the finish, aided by the 13th-fastest men's closing split in the field.

The most compressed battle of the day unfolded just behind Robinson. Mike Groenewegen (Seattle, 35) crossed 4th in 2:43:28, Joe Mariska (Kentfield, 38) 5th in 2:43:29, and Lucas Woodward (Berkeley, 39) 6th in 2:43:43 — 15 seconds covering three athletes. Notably, Groenewegen had actually faded through the second half, slipping from 13th among men to 18th, while Mariska ran the opposite race: surging from 24th all the way to 19th on the strength of the 11th-fastest men's closing split, nearly catching Groenewegen in the final miles. Steve Le (7th, 2:47:13) and Justin Wu (8th, 2:47:39) kept the battle going one tier back, separated by just 26 seconds.