San Francisco Half Marathon M25-29: Rivas Runs Away With It

• Diego Rivas won the M25-29 race in 1:23:46 (6:23/mi), finishing nearly 3 minutes clear of runner-up Suhas Hoysala.
• Kevin Huey staged the most dramatic charge of the day, moving from around 105th among men at the first checkpoint all the way to 27th by the finish — and posted the 8th-fastest split in the women's field on the final stretch to 11.45M→Finish.
• Nicholas Fong (5th, 1:30:18) edged Jessie Salas (6th, 1:30:41) by just 23 seconds, with only 2 seconds separating Fong from 4th-place Kevin Huey (1:30:16).
• Matthew Slasten and Norvin Guinto both clocked 1:32:16, with Slasten edging 10th ahead of Guinto's 11th by the narrowest of margins.

Diego Rivas made the M25-29 race look straightforward on a cool, fog-draped San Francisco morning — 54°F, 94% humidity, and barely a breath of wind. Running 6:23/mi, the San Francisco local crossed in 1:23:46 and built his winning margin steadily throughout, holding a position among the top six men for the entire race. His 2:52 cushion over second place was the defining gap of the day.

Suhas Hoysala (2nd, 1:26:38) ran a strong first half — his 6:37/mi average and a top-four men's split on the opening First Half segment had him well-placed — but he faded from 4th among men at mid-race to 10th by the finish, a sign that Rivas was pulling clear while others were running out of gas. Eric Schneider (3rd, 1:27:09) was more consistent, climbing steadily from 17th among men early on to 12th at the line, and posted the 10th-fastest men's split on the closing 11.45M-to-finish stretch.

The most compelling sub-plot belonged to Kevin Huey. Starting buried around 105th among men, he ran progressively faster as the miles ticked by, eventually cracking the top 35 among men and finishing 4th in M25-29 in 1:30:16 — also logging the 8th-fastest men's split on the final segment. It's worth noting Huey had already raced the Saturday 5K earlier in the weekend, finishing 4th among men there too, making his strong half-marathon finish all the more impressive. Nicholas Fong (5th, 1:30:18) nearly matched him, finishing just 2 seconds back after a steady climb from 56th among men at the first checkpoint to 28th at the finish.