San Francisco Marathon 5K: Sandoval Rules the M45-49 Field

• Miguel Sandoval (Redwood City, CA) won the M45-49 race in 20:53 at a 6:43/mi clip — the fastest pace in the field.
• Kevin Jude pushed him all the way, finishing 2nd in 21:04 — just 11 seconds back.
• Jose De La Cruz rounded out the podium in 21:18 (6:51/mi) — a notable step back from his 19:51 men's top-10 finish at this same race in 2023.
• The top three separated themselves decisively: 4th-place Steve Patterson finished in 24:31, more than three minutes behind De La Cruz.

Miguel Sandoval crossed in 20:53, running 6:43 per mile through San Francisco's cool, humid Sunday morning — 55°F and overcast, the kind of conditions that can feel fast or heavy depending on how your legs respond. Sandoval's responded well. His 11-second margin over Kevin Jude (21:04, 6:47/mi) tells the story of a race that was genuinely competitive at the front: Jude wasn't far off, but Sandoval had just enough to hold him clear.

Jose De La Cruz completed the podium in 21:18, but the real context here is what he ran at this same race a year ago: a 19:51 that put him 10th among all men in 2023. That's a 1:27 difference, and it's worth noting — De La Cruz clearly knows this course, and he'll know exactly what he's chasing if he lines up again.

Behind the top three, a significant gap opened before 4th-place Steve Patterson (London) came through in 24:31, with Mahadevan Venkatraman (Palo Alto) close behind in 24:39 — just 8 seconds separating them. Jamie LaPointe (Vail, AZ) finished 6th in 25:36, rounding out a lead pack that had clearly broken away from the rest of the 34-man M45-49 field before the midpoint of the race.