San Francisco Half Marathon 2025: Smith edges Houborg in a razor-thin M50-54 battle

• James Smith, 54, wins M50-54 in 1:31:13 (6:57/mi), finishing just 12 seconds ahead of Rasmus Houborg's 1:31:25.
• Houborg ran the fastest 1.81M→5.34M split among the men, yet Smith answered with the fastest 5.34M→6.15M split among the men — a lead swap that defined the race.
• Yiquan Hu (1:39:45) edged Faisal Syed (1:39:51) for third by six seconds, both averaging 7:37/mi, with Hu running the faster 11.05M→Finish leg to seal it.
• 185 men finished in M50-54, with the top two separated by just 12 seconds and the top five all inside 1:42.

James Smith of Los Altos Hills controlled the back half of this race with authority. After tracking around 52nd–56th in the men's field through the early miles, he surged decisively from the 5.34M mark, posting the fastest men's split on that 5.34M→6.15M segment to move up to 43rd among men by late in the race. At 54 — the oldest of the top five — he crossed in 1:31:13 at a 6:57/mi clip to claim the M50-54 title.

Rasmus Houborg of San Ramon was the aggressor early. He ran the fastest men's split on the opening 1.81M→5.34M stretch, which had him sitting 34th in the men's field at that early checkpoint — well clear of where Smith was tracking. But Houborg gradually faded through the middle miles, slipping from 34th to 47th among men by the finish. The 12-second margin tells the story: Smith's stronger second half was the difference.

The battle for third was its own drama. Yiquan Hu (age 50, Pleasanton) and Faisal Syed (age 52, Austin) were essentially inseparable all race long, both clocking 7:37/mi averages and separated by just six seconds at the line. Hu's edge came late — he ran the 109th-fastest men's split on the 11.05M→Finish segment versus Syed's 127th-fastest, a meaningful closing kick that secured third place in 1:39:45.

Philippe Lopez (1:41:38) rounded out the top five with a strong closing stretch of his own — posting the 44th-fastest men's split on the 10.54M→11.05M segment — while Alfonso Guerra (1:41:44) and Steve O'Conner (1:42:06) completed a tight top seven all within 53 seconds of each other.