Men's Handcycle: De los Santos Leads from the Front, Taylor Closes the Gap

• Alfredo De los Santos (Hopewell Jct, NY) won in 1:09:49 (2:40/mi avg), posting the fastest men's split on the 25K–30K segment and leading for the bulk of the race.
• Zachary Stinson (Chambersburg, PA) ran the fastest men's split on the 5K–10K segment on his way to 2nd in 1:17:49 — 8 minutes back of De los Santos.
• Michael Taylor (New York) finished 3rd in 1:32:59 — posting the 4th-fastest men's split on 5K–10K — while Kevin Hillery (Alexandria, VA) rounded out the top five in 1:26:32.
• A wide spread defined the men's field of 50: from De los Santos's 1:09:49 to the 20th finisher Omar Duran at 1:52:22, the field covered more than 42 minutes across the top 20 alone.

Alfredo De los Santos controlled this race from nearly the gun. He sat 1st among the men at the opening checkpoint and, aside from brief shuffling in the early miles, never relinquished command. His decisive move came on the 25K–30K stretch — the fastest men's split on that segment — and it was there the race was effectively settled. He crossed in 1:09:49, a 2:40/mi average over 26.2 miles through Washington D.C. and Arlington in 44°F conditions.

Zachary Stinson was the early aggressor, leading the men's field at the 5K–10K mark — where he posted the fastest men's split of anyone in the field on that segment — before De los Santos reasserted himself. Stinson ultimately held on for 2nd in 1:17:49 (2:58/mi), a clear and honest 8-minute gap to the winner. Michael Taylor, running a measured 3:33/mi average, navigated a race-long dance between 5th and 6th place before finishing 3rd in 1:32:59 — just two seconds ahead of Jeff Chaffin (9th, 1:32:57), who edged him out in the final timing by place.

Behind the podium, Kevin Hillery's 1:26:32 (3:18/mi) was a strong 5th, and Andrew Hairston (1:32:16, 3:31/mi) claimed 6th. The back half of the top 20 showed the true range of the men's field — Matthew Bradford (15th, 3:33:23) and Ballard Hall (12th, 2:50:17) illustrating just how broadly this event, part of one of the world's largest marathons, welcomes competitors across the spectrum of pace and ability.