Men's Marathon: Daubord Surges Late to Take San Francisco

• Brice Daubord, 2:26:17 (5:35/mi) — won the men's race with the strongest finishing kick, moving from 4th place at the halfway point all the way to 1st by mile 18, and never looked back.
• Nicholas Ciolkowski, 2:27:54 — runner-up by 1:37, powered by the 2nd-fastest split of any man on the 6.43–10.92-mile stretch, keeping him in contention throughout.
• Andrew Snyder, 2:31:23 — the biggest mover in the top 10, climbing from 18th early on to 3rd at the finish, posting the 3rd-fastest split on the 10.92-mile-to-Garmin-Hill-Challenge segment.
• Zach Speno improved from 5th in 2022 (2:42:24) to 7th in 2023 (2:38:36) — a 3:48 improvement over last year's race on the same course.

Brice Daubord, 37, from Orléans, ran a patient and calculated race before unleashing his best miles late. He was as far back as 4th after the opening miles, slipped briefly to 4th again mid-race, but by the time he hit the 14.95–18-mile stretch — where he posted the fastest split among all men — the race was his to lose. He crossed in 2:26:17 at 5:35/mi, well inside the 2022 men's winning time of Simon Ricci's 2:31:42, and within striking distance of the 2019 course record of 2:19:27.

Nicholas Ciolkowski, 26, from Berkeley, was never far from the front. He sat 2nd early, dipped to 4th around the 10-mile mark, then clawed back to 2nd — a position he held to the finish in 2:27:54. His 2nd-fastest men's split on the 6.43–10.92-mile section showed he had genuine speed through the middle of the race; the 1:37 gap to Daubord reflects how decisive that late surge on miles 15–18 truly was.

The race's most dramatic trajectory belonged to Andrew Snyder, 26, of San Francisco. He was 18th among men through the early miles but ran steadily and smartly, picking off rivals one by one. His 3rd-fastest split on the approach to the Garmin Hill Challenge helped him lock up 3rd place at 2:31:23 — a strong result for the local runner on his home streets. Behind him, Caleb Bendewald (4th, 2:35:23) and Robert Pedersen Jr. (5th, 2:37:32) rounded out a tight top five separated by under two minutes.

Further back, Zach Speno returned to San Francisco having finished 5th here in 2022 and delivered a sharper effort this time — 7th in 2:38:36, nearly four minutes faster than his 2022 mark. The top 20 closed out with a cluster of sub-2:48 finishers, including 45-year-old Julien Cazorla (19th, 2:47:21) and Pål Oraug, 43, in 15th at 2:46:15 — a reminder that the men's field of 3,570 finishers carried real depth and experience across every age.