M30-34 at Marine Corps Marathon: Roche Runs Down the Field to Take the Title

• Connor Roche (Highland Falls, NY) won M30-34 in 2:29:05 (5:41/mi), climbing from 33rd among men at the opening checkpoint all the way to 15th by the finish.
• Travis Chewning-Kulick closed just 33 seconds back at 2:29:38, posting the 9th-fastest men's split on the 35K→40K segment in his pursuit of the lead.
• Bradley Ferner (Roseburg, OR) ran one of the day's most relentless late charges — entering the men's top 20 only in the final stretch and clocking the 10th-fastest men's split on 40K→Finish to secure 3rd in 2:31:49.
• 2,603 finishers toed the line in M30-34, making it one of the deepest fields of the day at this prize-money-free People's Marathon.

Connor Roche didn't lead early — he earned it. Sitting 33rd among men through the first checkpoint, Roche methodically picked off competitors across every segment of the course, steadily ticking from 28th to 27th to 25th and beyond. By 40K he had clawed his way to 15th among men, and then he turned the jets on: his 8th-fastest men's split on the 40K→Finish stretch sealed the M30-34 win in 2:29:05 at 5:41/mi. It was a race run with patience and finished with conviction.

Travis Chewning-Kulick of Harriman, NY told a similar story — 32nd among men early, working through the pack before unleashing the 9th-fastest men's 35K→40K split in the field. That surge brought him home in 2:29:38, just 33 seconds shy of Roche. The gap between them at the line was narrow; the paths they took to get there were nearly mirror images. Third-place Bradley Ferner was even more of a back-half specialist, sitting 54th among men through 10K and not cracking the men's top 20 until the closing miles — his 10th-fastest 40K→Finish split was a genuine statement, earning him the bronze in 2:31:49.

Mark Duffett (Wareham) rounded out a competitive top five in 2:32:16, flashing the 16th-fastest men's split on the 10K→15K segment before settling into 4th. Stan Skwarlo of Oceanside, CA was another patient mover — 56th among men through the first three checkpoints before working all the way up to 28th by the finish — claiming 5th in 2:34:29. Jonathan Ladson and Frankie Biondo were separated by just 12 seconds in 6th and 7th, both running 5:57/mi. The M30-34 field at this 42°F morning along the monuments was deep, fast, and full of athletes who saved their best for last.