M50-54 at Boston 2025: Cardona Conquers Hopkinton to Copley Square

• Juan Carlos Cardona won the M50-54 group in 2:35:08 (5:55/mi), finishing ahead of a field of 1,996 fifty-somethings.
• Gamini Sugathadasa and Carlos Spallanzani were separated by just 35 seconds at 2nd and 3rd — but got there very differently.
• Paul Sadler (4th, 2:40:01) posted the 187th-fastest split on the 23M–24M segment among all men, matching Cardona's late-race aggression on that same stretch.
• The top 20 all broke 2:48, with Matt Sawyer (20th, 2:47:50) rounding out the group at a still-brisk 6:24/mi.

Juan Carlos Cardona took the M50-54 title at the 129th Boston Marathon in commanding fashion, crossing in 2:35:08 at a 5:55/mi clip — nearly a full minute ahead of runner-up Gamini Sugathadasa's 2:39:13. Cardona's race wasn't a wire-to-wire cruise, though. His men's field position actually slid from 181st at the first checkpoint all the way back to 472nd before he began reeling runners in, ultimately climbing back to 401st by the finish. That late surge was real: he registered the 216th-fastest split on the 23M–24M mile among all men — a sharp move through the Newton hills' aftermath when many legs were giving out.

Sugathadasa (2:39:13, 6:04/mi) held a steady hand, running near 583rd–713th in the men's field through the middle miles and finishing 683rd — consistent if unspectacular in terms of position changes. Spallanzani (3rd, 2:39:48, 6:06/mi) told a completely different story: he started deep in the men's field at 1,394th and spent the entire race climbing, reaching 733rd by the finish. His 260th-fastest split on the 20M–21M segment shows where he made his decisive push. These two finished just 35 seconds apart, but Spallanzani earned his podium spot by catching up — Sugathadasa held position while Spallanzani moved through traffic.

Sadler (4th, 2:40:01) and Cesar Carretero Molinero (5th, 2:40:52) both ran strong second halves, with Sadler also recording the 187th-fastest split on 23M–24M — a sign that the final miles brought out the best in this group's top finishers. Hiroshi Miyashita (6th, 2:42:01) through Matthew Yacoub (10th, 2:44:22) were tightly bunched across a span of just 1:21, making for a fiercely competitive chase pack. In a field of 1,996 M50-54 runners on one of the world's most demanding point-to-point courses, finishing inside 2:48 — as all 20 listed here did — is a genuine statement of form.