M25-29: Kiprop Surges Late to Claim the Title at Peachtree

• Patrick Kiptoo Kiprop wins M25-29 in 27:37 (4:27/mi), edging Nicholas Kipkorir by 3 seconds and Alex Matata by 11.
• Kiprop's race-defining move came on the second half, where he posted the fastest split of anyone in the men's field on that stretch.
• The top three were separated by just 11 seconds across 6.2 miles — in a field of 2,846 M25-29 finishers, that's razor-thin.
• Victor Shitsama (5th, 28:24) closed with the 7th-fastest men's split on the 5M-to-finish stretch, nearly catching William Amponsah (4th, 28:23) — a single second the difference.

Patrick Kiptoo Kiprop ran a tactically smart race through the Atlanta heat. He sat fourth among men at the first checkpoint, slid back briefly, then reasserted himself — hitting the front by the 4M mark before a late wobble dropped him to third. It was his second-half surge that settled things: the fastest men's split on that final stretch locked in the win at 27:37. Nicholas Kipkorir, who had been as far back as 8th among men through the middle miles, rallied hard — his 2nd-fastest men's split on the 3M-to-4M segment powered him back into contention, but 27:40 left him three seconds short.

Alex Matata completed the podium in 27:48, his best move coming on the 2M-to-3M segment where he posted the 2nd-fastest men's split and briefly held 2nd place overall among men. He faded slightly over the final miles but held on comfortably for third. Behind the top three, the race for fourth was decided by the narrowest of margins: Amponsah (28:23) and Shitsama (28:24) ran nearly identical races, with Shitsama's strong closing kick on the final mile not quite enough to overturn a one-second deficit.

Further back, the depth of this group was on full display. Ryan Ford (9th, 29:19) and Haftu Knight (10th, 29:33) rounded out a competitive top ten, while the gap from 10th to 11th — nearly a minute and six seconds to Vladimir Zander-velloso's 30:39 — marked a clear separation between the front pack and the rest of a 2,846-strong field running through a warm, humid Atlanta morning.