M25-29 Half Marathon: Patino Pulls Clear for a Sub-82 Win on Kaua'i

• Santiago Patino (Kapaa, HI) won the M25-29 group in 1:21:34 — a 6:13/mi pace — edging runner-up Cameron Garrelts by just 26 seconds.
• Patino posted the 4th-fastest men's split on the opening HALF→11.05 Mile segment in the field; Garrelts was right behind with the 9th-fastest on that same stretch — the race's decisive leg.
• After the 11.05-mile mark, Antonio Andrade (Koloa, HI) ran the 19th-fastest men's split to the finish in the field, enough to lock up 3rd in the M25-29 group at 1:29:06.
• A 7-minute gap separates the podium trio from the rest: 4th-place Carter Maxey crossed in 1:30:52, with the next four finishers all clustered between 1:30 and 1:36.

Santiago Patino came to Poipu and made a statement. Running 6:13 per mile through 77°F humidity on Kaua'i's coastal roads, the 25-year-old local from Kapaa was already sitting 6th among the men at the first checkpoint before surging to 4th by 11.05 miles — and he held every bit of that position to the tape. His 1:21:34 stands as a dominant M25-29 victory in a field of 85.

Cameron Garrelts (Killingworth, CT) was the closest challenger, moving in the opposite direction through the checkpoints — 3rd among the men early, then settling to 6th by the finish — but his 1:22:00 still earned a clear silver. The 26-second gap between him and Patino tells the story of a race decided in the first half, where Patino's 4th-fastest men's split on the HALF→11.05 Mile stretch proved the margin. Garrelts' 9th-fastest split on that same segment was strong, just not quite enough.

Behind the top two, Andrade, Maxey, and Gavin Baker (Kalaheo, HI) completed a Hawaii-heavy top five — three of the five podium-adjacent finishers calling the islands home. The back half of the top 20 spread across nearly 37 minutes of finishing time, with Sam Benner through Allen Cheng bunched tightly between 1:43:42 and 1:44:40, making for a spirited race within the race for those mid-pack spots on a warm, humid morning in Poipu.