NB35-39: Mercado leads a four-strong field through the San Francisco fog

• Miguel Mercado took the NB35-39 win in 2:08:31 (9:48/mi), posting the 4th-fastest non-binary split on the 4M–6M segment in the field.
• Morgan Bartholomew claimed 2nd in 2:30:26, with the 9th-fastest non-binary split on 8M–9.6M — a strong late-race stretch that kept the gap to 3rd comfortable.
• Derrick Guerrero finished 3rd in 2:41:06, while Sthabile Kolwa rounded out the four-finisher field in 2:47:25 — a 38-minute, 54-second spread from first to last.

Under scattered clouds and a brisk 14 mph wind off the Bay, Miguel Mercado controlled the NB35-39 race from start to finish. The San Bruno 37-year-old never relinquished his gender standing once he settled into position, holding 5th among non-binary finishers from the 6M mark onward and crossing in 2:08:31 at a 9:48/mi clip. His sharpest moment came on the 4M–6M stretch, where he posted the 4th-fastest non-binary split on that segment across the entire field — a sign of real mid-race punch.

Behind Mercado, Oakland's Morgan Bartholomew ran a composed 2:30:26 to claim 2nd. Bartholomew's best segment came late: the 9th-fastest non-binary split on the 8M–9.6M stretch showed a runner who found another gear when many others were fading. The nearly 22-minute gap to Mercado reflects two very different paces — 11:29/mi versus 9:48/mi — but Bartholomew's late charge was enough to keep 3rd place at a safe distance.

San Francisco's own Derrick Guerrero finished 3rd in 2:41:06 (12:17/mi), though his gender standing slipped steadily through the race — from 13th at the first checkpoint to 20th at the finish — suggesting the course's demands caught up with him in the second half. Sthabile Kolwa of Palo Alto closed out the field in 2:47:25, running 12:46/mi and posting the 18th-fastest non-binary split on the early 2M–4M segment. With just four finishers in NB35-39, every place mattered, and all four earned their spot on a demanding San Francisco course.