Men's Race: Pedersen Runs Down the Leader in the Final Miles

• Robert Pedersen wins in 2:19:17 (5:19/mi), surging from 2nd to 1st in the closing stretch after posting the fastest men's split from miles 10 to 13.1.
• Grayson Hough led the men's race through five checkpoints before fading to 4th at 2:25:21 — the biggest story of the front-end battle.
• Josh Tysor (2:21:15) and Jake Schmitt (2:23:23) ran the fastest and second-fastest men's splits from 16.2M to 20M, respectively — a late surge that locked in 2nd and 3rd.
• Benjamin Trapani and Bailey Sauter both clocked 5:45/mi but finished 2 seconds apart — 7th in 2:30:47 and 8th in 2:30:49 — one of the tightest battles of the day.

Grayson Hough (Davis, CA) came out swinging on the Silverado Trail, holding the top spot among men through every checkpoint from the gun through 20 miles. Running 5:33/mi, he also posted the fastest men's split from 6.2 to 10 miles — a controlled, confident front-runner's effort. But the net-downhill course through Napa Valley wine country had more to say, and the men chasing him were not done.

Robert Pedersen (Santa Rosa, CA) spent most of the race in 2nd or 3rd, biding his time. He struck decisively between miles 10 and 13.1, posting the fastest men's split on that segment, and by the final checkpoint he had moved to the front for good, crossing in 2:19:17. Josh Tysor (Albuquerque, NM) closed hard as well, logging the fastest men's split from 16.2 to 20 miles to lock in 2nd at 2:21:15 — a 1:58 gap back. Jake Schmitt (Fairfax, CA), 38 years old and the eldest of the podium, ran the second-fastest men's split over that same late stretch to claim 3rd in 2:23:23. Jason Karbelk (San Francisco, CA) rounded out the top five in 2:28:54, having posted the 3rd-fastest men's split from 6.2 to 10 miles.

Just behind, Jack Rager (6th, 2:30:18), Benjamin Trapani (7th, 2:30:47), and Bailey Sauter (8th, 2:30:49) ran within 31 seconds of each other — a compact three-way chase that played out over 26.2 miles. The men's field of 1,141 finishers stretched from Pedersen's 5:19/mi all the way through to Fernando De Samaniego Steta (10th, 2:38:57), who at 41 was the first master to crack the top ten — and did so by dipping under the men's course record time, no less.