M19 & Under: Mandal Wins at 16, Letulle Surges Late to Seal the Top Two

• Aneek Mandal, 16, wins in 1:14:05 (5:39/mi), holding off Logan Letulle by 57 seconds in a race that stayed competitive deep into the second half.
• Logan Letulle's closing kick was the fastest finish among the top contenders — 5th-fastest split on the 11.9M-to-finish segment across the entire women's field — powering him from 27th among men at the first checkpoint to 16th at the line.
• Dylan Williams and Randy Zhong separated 3rd from 4th by just 32 seconds (1:21:02 vs. 1:21:34), with Williams running a notably faster closing split to hold the edge.
• Mario Aluizo, the 2024 edition's 8th-place men's finisher in 1:19:26, returns in 2025 to take 6th in the M19 & Under field at 1:23:05 — a different outcome, but still one of the more experienced competitors in the group.

Aneek Mandal, just 16 years old out of Fremont, ran a composed and commanding race to win the M19 & Under field in 1:14:05 — a 5:39/mi clip that held up from start to finish across San Francisco's demanding course. He moved steadily through the men's field, climbing from 16th among men at the 4.9-mile mark to 12th by mile 11.9, and held 13th at the line — a strong overall standing to go with his M19 & Under title.

The most dramatic story in the race was Logan Letulle's back-half surge. The 17-year-old from Orinda sat 32nd among men at the 4.9-mile mark — well off the pace — but unleashed the 5th-fastest closing split (11.9M to finish) in the entire men's field to roar home in 1:15:02, ultimately finishing 2nd in the M19 & Under standings. The gap to Mandal at the line was 57 seconds; the gap in the closing segment told the real story of a runner who saved his best for last.

Behind the top two, the battle for 3rd through 5th was tight and hard-fought. Dylan Williams (1:21:02, 6:11/mi) edged Randy Zhong (1:21:34, 6:13/mi) by 32 seconds for 3rd, with Williams posting a stronger closing split to keep Zhong at bay. Tristan Chang rounded out the top five in 1:22:47. All three are 16-year-olds — a reminder of just how deep the younger end of this field ran on a course that doesn't forgive gaps in preparation.