M25-29: Mark Lind storms through the field to claim Napa

• Mark Lind won M25-29 in 2:37:28 (6:00/mi), climbing from 9th to 2nd among men in the back half — the 2nd-fastest men's split from 13.1M to 20M sealed it.
• Isai Carranza led the men's race outright from the gun but was run down, finishing 2nd in M25-29 in 2:37:53 — just 25 seconds back.
• Luke Diradoorian (3rd, 2:44:40) and Gary Hicks (4th, 2:45:18) were separated by only 38 seconds, with Hicks posting the 6th-fastest men's split from 20M to the finish.
• Jared Armstrong (5th, 2:48:21) was the strongest late finisher in the group, posting the 5th-fastest men's split from 20M to the finish after running as far back as 20th among men at the halfway mark.

Cold, rainy, and blustery at 41°F, Napa 2024 was no gift — and the M25-29 field of 134 didn't treat it like one. The story of the race belonged to Mark Lind, who spent the first half running quietly in the pack. At the midpoint he sat 9th among men, but between miles 13.1 and 20 he unleashed the 2nd-fastest men's split of the entire field on that stretch, vaulting into contention. By the finish he'd moved to 2nd among men and taken the M25-29 title in 2:37:28 at a crisp 6:00/mi average.

The man he had to catch was Isai Carranza, who led the men's race outright through the early miles. Carranza ran the 3rd-fastest men's split from 6.2M to 13.1M and held the top men's spot through 20 miles — but Lind's surge in that critical middle segment was too much to absorb. Carranza crossed in 2:37:53, a hard-earned 2nd in M25-29 that had been the lead position for most of the afternoon.

Behind the top two, the race reshuffled dramatically late. Gary Hicks had faded from 6th to 13th among men by mile 20, then came roaring back with the 6th-fastest men's finishing split to land 4th in M25-29 at 2:45:18. Jared Armstrong went even further back — 20th among men at the halfway mark — before closing with the 5th-fastest men's split from 20M in, finishing 5th in 2:48:21. Justin Mayer (6th, 2:50:26) through Andrew Scott (10th, 2:58:00) rounded out a tight mid-pack, with just over seven minutes separating 6th from 10th.