NB 25-29: Flores surges late to claim the top spot

• Chris Flores won the NB 25-29 race in 3:20:50 (7:40/mi), posting the fastest non-binary split on the 9.86M→10.5M segment and making a decisive move from 2nd to 1st late in the race.
• Venus Garcia held 3rd place in the non-binary gender standings for virtually the entire race, finishing 2nd in NB 25-29 in 3:35:45 (8:14/mi) — nearly 15 minutes back of Flores.
• Finn Polakov was the comeback story of the field, climbing from 8th in the non-binary standings all the way to 5th by the finish, crossing 3rd in NB 25-29 in 3:55:29 (8:59/mi).
• Five finishers completed the NB 25-29 race under San Francisco's characteristic cool and breezy conditions — 59°F with 15 mph winds off the Bay.

The NB 25-29 story belonged to Chris Flores, who ran a patient, tactical race before striking hard. Sitting steadily in 2nd place in the non-binary gender standings through most of the course, Flores found another gear between miles 9.86 and 10.5 — the fastest non-binary split on that segment in the entire field — vaulting to 1st in the gender standings. That surge didn't hold the overall non-binary position to the tape, but it was more than enough to lock up the NB 25-29 win in 3:20:50.

Venus Garcia ran one of the most consistent races in the field, sitting 4th in the non-binary standings at the first checkpoint and methodically moving up to 3rd, where she stayed for the remainder of the race. She backed that steadiness with the 2nd-fastest non-binary split on the 10.5M→12M stretch, finishing 2nd in NB 25-29 at 3:35:45 — a composed performance from start to finish.

Finn Polakov made the most dramatic positional climb of the group. Starting well back — 6th in the non-binary standings early, sliding to 8th — Polakov ground through the field and delivered the 3rd-fastest non-binary split on the 14M→16M segment, eventually surfacing 5th in the gender standings and 3rd in NB 25-29 at 3:55:29. Ishaan Sangwan (4th, 4:29:25) and Sean Mangan (5th, 4:55:17) rounded out the five-finisher field, with Mangan posting the 10th-fastest non-binary split on the early 4M→6M stretch before a challenging second half brought him home in just under five hours.