Masters Men Ultramarathon: Hulton Runs Down the Field

• David Hulton wins in 8:08:56 (9:20/mi), climbing from 17th to 8th among the men over the second half — the decisive move of the race.
• Top four separated by just 30:18 across 52.4 miles, with Rodney Martin (8:27:25), Mitsuo Moriya (8:34:46), and Craig Dukes (8:39:14) all within striking distance at the front.
• Yuan Gao, age 66, finished 6th in 9:51:46 — one of the most impressive performances in the field given the distance and the 52.4 miles of San Francisco terrain underfoot.
• 26 Masters Men finished one of the few urban ultramarathons in the country — a 52.4-mile double loop over the Golden Gate Bridge, through Golden Gate Park, and along the Embarcadero.

David Hulton was the story of the Masters Men race. The Seattle runner didn't just win — he hunted. Moving from 17th to 8th among the men across the back half of the course, Hulton ran the strongest second-marathon segment in the field, posting the 6th-fastest split from the first-marathon turnaround to the finish among all men. His 9:20/mi average over 52.4 miles in 60°F, high-humidity conditions is the number that defines this race.

Behind him, Rodney Martin of Fresno made his own charge, climbing from 15th to 13th among the men on the strength of the 11th-fastest closing split — finishing in 8:27:25 at age 53. Mitsuo Moriya (8:34:46) and Craig Dukes (8:39:14) held their positions more steadily, with Moriya staying exactly 14th among the men across both halves and Dukes fading slightly from 12th to 15th. That four-man podium battle — compressed into 30 minutes across a double marathon — was the competitive heart of the Masters Men race.

The middle and back of the field told a different kind of story. Motoyasu Suzuki (9:35:04) and Yuan Gao (9:51:46) led the next wave, with Gao's 66-year-old legs covering the course in under ten hours — a feat worth noting on its own. Chris Lotspeich of San Francisco finished 10th in 10:17:11, the last man under the 10:20 mark before the field spread out through the afternoon. All 26 finishers who crossed the line earned it the hard way: twice around one of the most demanding urban courses in American ultrarunning.