M19 & Under: Nicholas Guan Dominates San Francisco's Hilly Half

• Nicholas Guan, 17, wins in 1:23:10 (6:21/mi) — more than a minute clear of runner-up Cadan Felten's 1:24:26.
• Felten's second half was electric — the 16-year-old from Chevy Chase posted the 4th-fastest second-half split in the women's field, climbing from 49th among women at the first checkpoint all the way to 10th by the finish.
• Joey Rempe surged late — the 17-year-old from Bradfordwoods posted the 10th-fastest split in the field on the final stretch (10.65M to finish), vaulting to 4th in 1:30:53.
• 94 finishers completed the M19 & Under race, with 20 runners breaking the 1:49 mark.

On a cool, humid San Francisco morning — 60°F and 87% humidity, with the city's trademark rolling terrain underfoot — Nicholas Guan ran a controlled, authoritative race. The 17-year-old San Franciscan crossed in 1:23:10, averaging 6:21 per mile, and was the class of the under-19 field from start to finish. His move data tells a nuanced story: he surged as high as 3rd among women at the opening checkpoint before settling back, ultimately finishing 8th among women — a testament to just how fast he was moving through a large mixed field.

Cadan Felten, 16, made the race's most compelling charge. Starting conservatively — 49th among women through the first half — the Chevy Chase runner turned on the afterburners on the back half, posting the 4th-fastest second-half split in the women's field to finish 2nd in 1:24:26 (6:26/mi). He couldn't quite reel in Guan, who had already banked enough time, but the gap between them — 1:16 — is a closer result than Felten's patient early miles might have suggested. Dylan Theocheung, 17, ran a steady progression to claim 3rd in 1:29:18, while Felten's fellow late-charger Joey Rempe closed hard with the 10th-fastest final-segment split in the field to take 4th in 1:30:53.

Behind the podium, the under-19 field showed real depth. Ved Kenjale (19, 1:32:03), Kanon Homma (16, 1:33:30), and Donovan Carlson — just 15 years old — finishing 7th in 1:34:05 rounded out a competitive top ten that skewed remarkably young. Otis Koo and Austin Price both clocked 1:35-range finishes at age 15 and 19 respectively, separated by just nine seconds at the line.