M35-39: Nick Tsotu Runs Away with It

• Nick Tsotu won the M35-39 group in 1:55:48 — a 5:47/mi average — finishing 14 minutes and 2 seconds clear of runner-up Ryan Cook.
• Ryan Cook (2:09:50) held 5th among the men throughout, then closed with the 3rd-fastest split on the final Mile 16→Finish stretch to secure 2nd in the age group.
• Ty Nguyen edged Paul Magaletti for 4th by just 19 seconds (2:15:41 vs. 2:15:22… wait — Magaletti 2:15:22 was 4th, Nguyen 2:15:41 was 5th) — a gap of only 19 seconds across 20 miles.
• 52 men finished in the M35-39 group; the top 20 were spread across a 52-minute window from Tsotu's 1:55:48 to Nicewonger's 2:47:44.

Nick Tsotu turned the M35-39 race into a solo time trial almost from the gun. Running at 5:47 per mile — a clip that kept him at the front of the men's field from checkpoint to checkpoint — the 39-year-old from Fair Oaks was never seriously challenged. He also posted the fastest men's split on the Mile 4→Mile 10 segment, meaning he wasn't just leading; he was actively pulling away through the heart of the course on a warm November morning in Folsom.

Behind him, Ryan Cook ran a patient, measured race. He sat 6th among the men for most of the day and didn't move until the final stretch, where a strong Mile 16→Finish effort — 3rd-fastest among the men on that closing segment — lifted him to 5th in the men's field and cemented 2nd in the M35-39 group. Bruce Yang (2:14:02, 6:42/mi) was steady throughout, holding 8th among the men from start to finish to claim 3rd.

The most animated battle in the age group played out for 4th and 5th. Paul Magaletti and Ty Nguyen were separated by just 19 seconds at the line — Magaletti in 2:15:22, Nguyen in 2:15:41 — after 20 miles of racing. Both had posted strong Mile 4→Mile 10 splits (9th- and 7th-fastest among the men, respectively), suggesting the race between them was close long before the finish chute.