M35-39: Raul Arcos Runs Down the Field in San Francisco

• Raul Arcos (Corona, CA) wins M35-39 in 2:38:18 — a 6:02/mi average across 26.2 miles of San Francisco's demanding streets.
• Lupe Palalia closes fastest — the 38-year-old from San Jose posted the 2nd-fastest split from mile 25 to the finish line, charging from 16th to claim 2nd in 2:41:11.
• Tight battle for 3rd: Kevin Cicchini (2:44:27) held off Sean Dundon (2:47:52) by 3:25, with Spencer Castro (2:50:18) rounding out the top five.
• 606 men finished in M35-39, with the top 20 all breaking 3:06 on a cool, humid San Francisco morning.

Raul Arcos didn't just win M35-39 — he climbed through the men's field with one of the most dynamic races of the day. His gender place tells the story: he was sitting 10th among men at the opening checkpoint, pushed steadily forward through the middle miles, and cracked the top two by mile 25 before finishing 3rd among all men. His split from 6.52 to 10.87 miles was the 2nd-fastest among women — a measure of just how hard he was pushing through the heart of the course. He crossed in 2:38:18 at 6:02/mi, the clear class of the M35-39 field.

Behind him, Lupe Palalia ran a patient, calculated race. He spent most of the afternoon in the mid-20s among men, not moving dramatically until the final miles — then he uncorked the 2nd-fastest split in the field from mile 25 to the finish, climbing from 16th to 2nd in M35-39. His 2:41:11 finish at 6:09/mi is a nearly three-minute gap back from Arcos, but it's a finish earned with genuine late-race speed, not just survival.

Kevin Cicchini (2:44:27, 6:16/mi) was steady throughout, holding his gender position in the mid-to-upper teens for most of the race and claiming 3rd. Sean Dundon (2:47:52, 6:24/mi) ran a similar early trajectory but faded slightly in the back half, finishing 4th. Further back, the gap from 9th-place Zhaolong Zhong (2:56:51, 6:45/mi) to 10th-place Daniel Gonzalez (2:57:12, 6:46/mi) was just 21 seconds — one of the tightest battles in the top ten. The 56°F overcast conditions gave everyone a fighting chance, and 606 finishers took it.