Masters Men: Oligmueller Runs Away from a Deep Twin Cities Field

• Jay Oligmueller, 41, wins in 2:39:34 (6:05/mi), finishing 31st among all men and posting the 7th-fastest men's split on the final 40K-to-finish stretch.
• Sam Ives, 44, takes 2nd in 2:42:36 — a 3:02 gap back — after running the 28th-fastest men's 25K–30K split to surge from 56th to 40th among men in that stretch.
• Levi Severson, 42, and Justin Goetz, 40, battle to the line, finishing 3rd (2:44:42) and 4th (2:45:13) — just 31 seconds apart — with Severson posting the 26th-fastest men's 35K–40K split to make his move.
• Kevin Zanker, 57, claims 9th in 2:52:41, the standout age story in a Masters field of 1,477.

Jay Oligmueller made this race look controlled from start to finish. The Lincoln, NE, 41-year-old steadily climbed the men's standings — 52nd at the first checkpoint, 31st by the finish — and then turned the screws in the closing miles, posting the 7th-fastest men's split from 40K to the finish line. On a cool, humid morning along the Chain of Lakes and the Mississippi, that late-race strength was decisive. His 2:39:34 at 6:05/mi left no doubt in the Masters field.

Minneapolis local Sam Ives ran a smart, surging race of his own. After hovering around 56th–58th among men through the middle miles, Ives found another gear between 25K and 30K — 28th-fastest men's split in that segment — and rode that momentum home in 2:42:36. The 3:02 gap to Oligmueller was real, but Ives' finish was a strong statement in a field this deep.

The battle for the final podium spot was the race's best subplot. Levi Severson of Edina and Justin Goetz of Marshfield, WI, were locked together deep into the course. Severson made his decisive move between 35K and 40K — 26th-fastest men's split on that segment — to edge ahead and claim 3rd in 2:44:42. Goetz answered as best he could, finishing 4th in 2:45:13, but the 31-second margin held. Tom Gatyas (5th, 2:46:35) also closed well, posting the 32nd-fastest men's 40K-to-finish split to move from 68th to 56th among men in the back half. And 57-year-old Kevin Zanker, finishing 9th in 2:52:41 at 6:35/mi, was the age outlier worth noting in a Masters field that ran 1,477 strong.