M25-29 at CIM 2024: Stephen Jones Runs Away With It

• Jones wins in 2:14:56 (5:09/mi), the fastest in the M25-29 group — a 1:19 margin over runner-up Andrew Oslin.
• Dominic Arce's late surge was the race's most dramatic move: he entered the final 10K ranked 27th among men before climbing to 21st, posting the 2nd-fastest split in the field on the 30K–35K segment.
• Tight battle for 2nd and 3rd: Oslin (2:16:15) and Arce (2:16:30) were separated by just 15 seconds across 26.2 miles.
• 760 finishers made M25-29 a deep field; the top 20 alone spanned just 14 minutes and 15 seconds from first to last.

Stephen Jones came to Sacramento and put on a clinic. Running 5:09 per mile through the streets of Sacramento, the 26-year-old from Boulder posted a 2:14:56 that no one in the M25-29 group could touch. His race unfolded with purpose — he was already climbing through the men's field by midrace, cracking the top 12 among men by the 35K mark before settling at 14th. Along the way he posted the 2nd-fastest split in the entire field on the 25K–30K segment, which is when the race truly became his.

Behind Jones, the battle for the podium was decided in the back half. Andrew Oslin of Auburn, WA, ran a controlled 2:16:15 at 5:12/mi, holding steady in the mid-teens among men throughout — a model of consistency. Dominic Arce took the opposite approach. The Portland runner was 62nd among men early on, still 60th at halfway, and looked like a mid-pack finisher. Then he turned it on. His 30K–35K split was 2nd-fastest in the entire field, and he rocketed from 49th to 21st among men over the final third of the race, finishing in 2:16:30 — just 15 seconds behind Oslin and good for 3rd in M25-29.

Fourth went to Grady Daniels (2:18:59), another Portland runner, who ran a remarkably even race — barely moving through the men's standings from start to finish. Dominic Morganti rounded out the top five in 2:20:18, finishing with the 16th-fastest split in the field on the 40K-to-finish stretch, suggesting he had something left in the tank when it mattered most. In a field of 760, those five separated themselves clearly — and Jones separated himself from everyone.