Men's Napa Valley Marathon: Vernau Takes Control at the Halfway Mark

• Michael Vernau, 24, wins in 2:33:07 (5:50/mi) — the fastest men's time at Napa Valley Marathon in the editions we have since Nicholas Spector's 2:18:28 in 2023... wait — actually the fastest this edition, crossing 4+ minutes clear of second place.
• The decisive move came between miles 6.2 and 13.1 — Vernau posted the fastest men's split on that segment, vaulting from 3rd to 1st and never looking back.
• Mark Lind's charge from 9th to 2nd — running the 2nd-fastest men's split from 13.1M to 20M, he clawed from 9th place at the opening checkpoint all the way to the runner-up spot (2:37:28, 6:00/mi).
• Marco Capelli, 51, finished 12th among 830 men in 2:47:46 (6:24/mi) — a standout performance in a field dominated by runners two decades younger.

In cold, damp conditions — 41°F, light rain, and 84% humidity — the men's race at Napa Valley Marathon played out as a story of early aggression and a mid-race reshuffling. Isai Carranza led out of the gates, holding 1st through the first checkpoint before being reeled in. It was Michael Vernau who made the defining move: running the fastest men's split on the 6.2-to-13.1-mile stretch, the 24-year-old from San Francisco surged from 3rd to the front and held the lead wire-to-wire from there, finishing in 2:33:07.

Behind him, the race for the podium was tight and earned. Carranza (Stanford, CA) held on for 3rd in 2:37:53 (6:01/mi), but it was Mark Lind who made the most dramatic climb in the men's field. Starting the back half of the race in 6th, the Santa Monica runner ran the 2nd-fastest men's split from 13.1 to 20 miles and arrived at the finish in 2:37:28 — 25 seconds ahead of Carranza and firmly in second place. Kevin Burmaster, 39, rounded out the top four in 2:38:35, posting the 3rd-fastest men's split on the final stretch from mile 20 to the finish — a strong late push that held off a fading Michael Bolt, who slipped from 3rd at the halfway mark to 5th by the line (2:43:33).

The next cluster — Bjorn Thorsen (2:44:19), Luke Diradoorian (2:44:40), and Zachary Blackwood (2:44:55) — finished within 36 seconds of each other in 6th through 8th, with Gary Hicks (2:45:18) and Eric Card (2:45:35) close behind to round out the top ten. Among the deeper field, Marco Capelli's 12th-place finish at age 51 deserves a moment: his 2:47:46 in a men's field of 830 runners, most of them significantly younger, was one of the quiet highlights of the day.