M55-59: Suchey Runs Away From the Field in San Francisco

• Alex Suchey, 58, wins in 3:01:07 (6:54/mi) — the only M55-59 finisher under 3:05 and more than four minutes clear of the field.
• James Scanlan takes 2nd in 3:05:37 (7:05/mi), holding off a wide gap to 3rd; Pascal Di Vincenzo rounds the podium in 3:25:42 (7:51/mi).
• Positions 6–7 were decided by six seconds: Ian Murray (3:38:50) just edging Duane Menigoz (3:38:56).
• 145 men aged 55–59 finished in San Francisco's signature chill — 59°F, 15 mph winds off the Bay.

Alex Suchey came to San Francisco and ran like a man with something to prove. The 58-year-old from Folsom posted a 6:54/mi average across 26.2 miles to win the M55-59 field in 3:01:07 — a margin of more than four and a half minutes over the next finisher. His race wasn't without turbulence: his place among the men slipped from 51st at the first checkpoint all the way back to 103rd at one stage, a sign he went out conservatively and paid for a mid-race fade. But he steadied the ship, clawing back to 93rd by the finish, and his 64th-fastest men's split on the 9.86M–10.5M stretch shows he still had something left when it counted.

James Scanlan, the 56-year-old local from San Francisco, earned a solid 2nd place in 3:05:37. He was moving well early — 47th among men through the first two miles, posting the 62nd-fastest men's split on that 2M–4M segment — but the back half of the course told a different story. His men's place drifted from 73rd at the halfway point all the way to 124th before a slight recovery to 123rd at the line. The 7:05/mi average was respectable, but Suchey's 6:54 pace was in a different gear.

Pascal Di Vincenzo, racing from Grez-Doiceau, Belgium, made the podium in 3:25:42 with a quietly efficient second half — his men's place improved from 444th at the mid-race low to 375th at the finish, and his 333rd-fastest men's split on the 10.5M–12M leg reflects a runner finding his rhythm late. Behind him, Jackie Xl Ma (4th, 3:29:44) and Jun Kawashima (5th, 3:37:01) rounded out the top five, with Kawashima's 464th-fastest men's split on the 2M–4M segment hinting at a cautious early approach that ultimately cost him ground on the podium.