M25-29: Nestor surges home to claim Napa Valley Marathon glory

• Dan Nestor, 2:23:01 (5:27/mi) — won M25-29 with the fastest men's split from 20M to the finish, climbing from 6th to 3rd among men on the closing stretch.
• Brandon Krage, 2:24:30 — led the men's field early before fading to 4th among men and 2nd in M25-29, just 1:29 behind Nestor.
• Trevor Halsted, 2:29:39 — rounded out the M25-29 podium in 3rd, finishing 6:38 back of Nestor at 5:42/mi.
• Thomas Stone, 2:33:20 — 4th in M25-29 with the 6th-fastest men's closing split (20M→Finish), quietly picking off rivals late.

The story of M25-29 at the 2022 Napa Valley Marathon — run in crisp 39°F conditions with calm winds — was one of a patient predator and a fading front-runner. Brandon Krage of Denver came out flying, sitting 1st among men through the 10K mark and holding 2nd through the half. He posted the 3rd-fastest men's split from 10K to 13.1M, a display of genuine mid-race power. But the final miles told a different story: Krage slipped to 4th among men by the finish, crossing in 2:24:30.

Dan Nestor, meanwhile, was running a different kind of race entirely. The Boulder 28-year-old sat 6th among men at 10K, 6th at the half, and 5th at 20 miles — methodical, unhurried, watching the field. Then he detonated. Nestor posted the fastest men's split from 20M to the finish, vaulting from 5th to 3rd among men and claiming the M25-29 title in 2:23:01 at a 5:27/mi clip. That closing surge is the defining moment of this race.

Palo Alto's Trevor Halsted (2:29:39, 5th-fastest men's 10K→13.1M split) held steady through the middle miles and secured 3rd in M25-29, while his Palo Alto neighbor Thomas Stone (2:33:20) quietly climbed from 9th to 7th among men with the 6th-fastest closing split of any man in the field. The back half of the top 20 was tightly bunched — from Derick Yang's 5th-place 2:49:04 through Albert Lin's 10th-place 2:54:29, just over five minutes separated six finishers. In a field of 105, the depth in M25-29 was real — but the headline belonged to Nestor and his perfectly timed finish.