M30-39 at Rio Del Lago 50K: Feher Dominates, Raposa Holds Off a Fast-Closing Arreola
- Andrew Feher won the M30-39 group in 4:14:35 — an 8:12/mi average over 50K in 72°F heat.
- Tyler Raposa finished 2nd in 4:31:37, posting the 2nd-fastest split on the Willow Creek→Beals Point 2 segment; Jose Arreola came in 3rd at 4:38:00, separated by just 6:23.
- The gap from 1st to 3rd was 23:25; from 3rd to 4th (Andrew Stekol Moore, 5:02:09) was a more substantial 24:09 — the podium was its own race within a race.
- Thirteen men finished, spanning from Feher's 4:14:35 to Prasanth Kotaru's 8:00:40 — a range of nearly four hours across the M30-39 field.
Andrew Feher ran this race like a man with a plan. The 38-year-old from Sacramento moved to the front of the men's field early — sitting 1st among men at the first checkpoint — and while he ceded some ground through the middle miles (slipping to 4th among men at one point), he clawed back to 2nd by the final segments and never let the M30-39 lead go. His most decisive move came on the Beals Point→Willow Creek leg, where he posted the fastest split in the entire men's field. At 8:12/mi sustained across a 50K, that's not just winning a group — that's setting the pace for everyone in the race.
Raposa and Arreola made things interesting behind him. Raposa, 34, from nearby Rocklin, ran a smart race — consistently mid-pack among men early before climbing to 3rd by the midpoint and holding the position through to the finish. His Willow Creek→Beals Point 2 split was the 2nd-fastest among men on that segment, a sign he was still pushing late. Arreola, just 30 and also out of Rocklin, had the most dramatic trajectory of the three: starting 16th among men and methodically working his way up to 7th by the midpoint, then locking in 3rd in M30-39 by the finish. His 5th-fastest split on the Granite Beach stretch showed he had genuine speed in his legs when it mattered.
Behind the podium, Andrew Stekol Moore (5:02:09) and Lucas Sanchez (5:30:10) rounded out the top five, while Marcus Worthington, Eric Hadden, and Corey Belanger formed a tight cluster between 6:01 and 6:21. At the back, Prasanth Kotaru crossed in 8:00:40 — a genuine full day's effort on the trails — completing a M30-39 field that was as spread out as it was competitive at the front.
AI recap · generated from official results
