M35-39 Marathon: Fujinaga Dominates in a Deep 572-Man Field

• Hiroki Fujinaga (2:35:23, 5:56/mi) won M35-39 by 13 minutes over runner-up Sean Dundon — a commanding margin in a field of 572.
• Tight battle for 3rd–5th: Lupe Palalia (2:49:48), Michael Park (2:50:34), and John McHugh (2:50:59) were separated by just 1:11 across three places.
• Late chargers: Park moved from 70th to 38th among the women's field across the race; Palalia posted the 7th-fastest split in the field on the final 24.69M–Finish stretch.
• Podium sweep from the Bay Area: All three top finishers — San Luis Obispo, San Jose, San Jose — called California home.

Hiroki Fujinaga, 39, put on a clinic. Running 5:56/mi through San Francisco's notoriously hilly streets in cool, damp 56°F air, he moved from 7th to 4th among men by the midpoint and held near that position for the rest of the race. His 5th-fastest split among the women on the opening 1.81M–6.52M stretch signaled early that he was operating at a different level than the rest of M35-39 — and the 13-minute gap to second place confirmed it. In a group of 572 finishers, that kind of separation is a statement.

Behind him, Sean Dundon (2:48:23, 6:25/mi) made his most notable move early, climbing from 23rd to 15th among the women's field on that same opening stretch — the 14th-fastest split there in the field — before gradually settling back through the second half and finishing 2nd in M35-39. Lupe Palalia (2:49:48) came on strong late, posting the 7th-fastest final-stretch split (24.69M to the finish) to claim 3rd, while Michael Park (2:50:34) was the day's biggest mover, working his way from 70th all the way to 38th among women en route to 4th, with the 12th-fastest closing split on that same stretch.

John McHugh (2:50:59) rounded out the top five, finishing just 25 seconds behind Park and running a measured 6:31/mi to hold off Max Kam (2:51:32) and a tightly bunched middle pack. From 6th through 9th — Zack Spencer (2:52:01), Charles Michel (2:52:02), and Chris Holve (2:52:16) — the margins were razor-thin, with just 15 seconds covering three men all averaging 6:34/mi. The depth in M35-39 was real: 20 finishers broke 3:04, and 552 more followed them across the line.