Men's Bigfoot 200: Kubala Hunts Down the Lead and Never Looks Back

• Aaron Kubala wins in 47:21:11 — more than six hours clear of 2nd place, averaging 14:12/mi across 200.1 miles of Cascade volcanic terrain.
• Brody Chisholm, 19, runs a remarkable race — leading or co-leading through most of the course before finishing 2nd in 53:36:41, posting the fastest men's split on the Windy Ridge→Coldwater leg.
• Josh Coleman, 50, charges from 18th to 3rd — a sustained, methodical climb through the field that ends with a 57:19:04 finish and the fastest men's split on Road 9327→Spencer.
• 4th and 5th separated by just four minutes — John Mahoney (59:52:45) and Dave Walker-Blair (59:56:50) waged a late-race battle, with Walker-Blair posting the fastest men's split on Klickitat→Twin Sisters.

The headline story of this men's race is a comeback for the ages. Aaron Kubala was sitting 64th among men early on — deep in the field, nowhere near the front — before methodically reeling in the leaders. By the second checkpoint he had surged to 2nd, and he hit the front not long after, seizing the lead and never truly surrendering it again. His winning time of 47:21:11 is a commanding performance across 200.1 miles and 44,082 feet of gain through Mt. St. Helens' volcanic terrain, lava fields, and old-growth forest. He sealed it with the fastest men's split on the Coldwater→Norway Pass segment, a final stamp of authority.

The early race, though, belonged to Brody Chisholm. The 19-year-old from Salem, NH ran at the front — or just off it — for the vast majority of the course, and his Windy Ridge→Coldwater split was the fastest among all men on that leg. He faded slightly in the back half as Kubala surged past, but holding on for 2nd in 53:36:41 over a 200-mile mountain race is a performance that demands respect regardless of age.

Behind the top two, Josh Coleman wrote one of the more quietly impressive stories in the men's field. The 50-year-old from Bushnell, FL started 18th and steadily moved through the standings — 12th, 11th, 5th, 4th — before locking in 3rd at 57:19:04. His fastest men's split on Road 9327→Spencer shows the move wasn't luck; it was a calculated surge at the right moment.

The fight for 4th was tight. John Mahoney — who had started an extraordinary 154th among men before charging forward — finished in 59:52:45, with Dave Walker-Blair of Minehead close behind at 59:56:50. Walker-Blair's fastest men's split on Klickitat→Twin Sisters nearly closed the gap entirely, but Mahoney held on by just under four minutes. Beyond the top five, Matthew Van Horn (7th, 63:22:28) at 55 years old was among the elder statesmen of a 145-man finishing field that stretched deep into the Cascade night.