Napa Valley Half Marathon M35-39: Pierce Dominates in the Rain

• Jon Pierce won M35-39 in 1:08:03 (5:11/mi), finishing 4th among all men and posting the 2nd-fastest men's split on the 3.1M→6.9M stretch.
• Jason Karbelk was 1:56 back in 2nd at 1:09:59 (5:20/mi), holding 5th among men throughout and running the 5th-fastest men's split on that same middle segment.
• The podium's 3rd and 4th spots were separated by just 6 seconds — Matthew Tiampo (3rd, 1:11:45) and Andy Schweitzer (4th, 1:11:51) — with Schweitzer actually running the 8th-fastest men's final-segment split to Tiampo's 10th, meaning he closed harder but couldn't quite reel in his Boulder rival.
• A field of 138 finishers spread across nearly 20 minutes from 1st to 20th place, with 5th-placer Terence Byrnes clocking 1:15:05 — over three minutes behind Schweitzer.

In cold, rainy conditions — 40°F with light rain soaking the Napa Valley course — Jon Pierce ran like the weather didn't matter. His 5:11/mi average put him well clear of the M35-39 field from the outset, and his 2nd-fastest men's split through the 3.1-to-6.9-mile stretch confirmed he wasn't coasting. Pierce held 4th among all men from start to finish: a wire-to-wire performance with no drama about the outcome, just relentless execution.

Behind Pierce, Jason Karbelk (1:09:59, 5:20/mi) was equally composed, sitting 5th among men at every checkpoint and never wavering. The 1:56 gap to Pierce was established early and never closed. What makes Karbelk's run notable is the consistency — the same gender position at miles 3.1, 6.9, and the finish line. That kind of lock-step pacing in wet, chilly conditions is its own kind of discipline.

The real drama in M35-39 played out just behind them. Matthew Tiampo (3rd, 1:11:45) and Andy Schweitzer (4th, 1:11:51) were separated by only six seconds at the line, but they got there differently. Schweitzer ran the 8th-fastest men's split on the back half, faster than Tiampo's 10th, meaning he was actively closing — he just ran out of course. Tiampo, meanwhile, had slipped from 7th to 9th among men over the final stretch, leaving the door open for Schweitzer to nearly walk through it.