M25-29 Marathon: Koa Kam Controls Kaua'i

• Koa Kam (27, Lihue) won the M25-29 group in 3:21:21 (7:41/mi), finishing more than two minutes clear of runner-up Damon Niesen.
• Damon Niesen climbed from outside the top 20 among men at the early checkpoint all the way to 8th among men by the finish — the most dramatic mover in the group.
• Places 3–5 were decided by a razor-thin 18-second spread: Daniel Wong (3:34:09), Bryson Robergs (3:34:19), and Errict Seals (3:34:24).
• Daniel Wong posted the fastest split among men on the Half→22.25 Miles segment, a burst that helped him rocket from 179th among men at the half to 13th by the finish.

Koa Kam had home-course familiarity on his side — the Lihue native ran a composed 7:41-per-mile effort through 77°F humidity and held his position among the men's field from the opening miles all the way to the tape. There was no dramatic late surge needed; Kam simply ran the day better than anyone else in the M25-29 group, banking a 2:17 cushion over Niesen that never looked threatened.

Behind him, Niesen's race told a completely different story. Starting outside the top 20 among men, the Willits, CA runner steadily picked off competitors through the back half and closed with the 4th-fastest split among men on the final 24.15 Mile→Finish stretch. That late charge was relentless, but Kam was already home.

The real drama in this age group unfolded in the battle for third. Wong arrived at the halfway point buried deep in the men's field, then unleashed the fastest split among men on the Half→22.25 Miles segment to tear through the field. Robergs, by contrast, was a model of consistency — holding almost exactly the same position among men at every checkpoint — and still nearly held Wong off. Five seconds separated them at the line. Errict Seals, the local from Kapaa, had started dead last in the M25-29 group and worked all the way up to 5th, missing the podium by just five more seconds.