Masters Men 10K: McLean Runs Away From the Field

• Scot McLean, 58, wins in 36:55 — a 5:56/mi pace that left the rest of the Masters Men field more than four minutes behind.
• Tight battle for 2nd: Mark McDermott (40:58) and Aleksandar Naumoski (41:06) were separated by just 8 seconds, with Caleb Guest (41:34) and Ever Merida (42:05) rounding out a closely-packed top five.
• Deep field: 139 Masters Men finished in light rain on the streets of Santa Rosa, with the top 10 all coming in under 44 minutes.

Scot McLean of San Anselmo made this one a statement. The 58-year-old crossed in 36:55 — a 5:56/mi average — and was never seriously challenged. His winning margin over 2nd-place Mark McDermott was 4:03, a gap that speaks for itself. While the rest of the field was still working through the second half of the course, McLean was already done.

Behind him, the race for the podium was a genuine fight. McDermott, 47, from San Rafael, held 2nd in 40:58, but Naumoski, 45, out of Hayward, pushed him the entire way and finished just 8 seconds back at 41:06. Caleb Guest (41:34) and Ever Merida (42:05) kept the pressure on through 5th, making the 2nd-through-5th spread just 1:07 across four runners. Christopher Morrell (42:49) and David Park (42:57) — both Santa Rosa locals — ran the course in their own backyard and finished 6th and 7th respectively, separated by only 8 seconds themselves.

The back half of the top 10 held its own story, with Leonardo Naves (43:10), Jason Knight (43:24), and Randell Hansen (43:39) filling out 8th through 10th. A notable gap then opened before Tyler Jeppson (46:25) in 11th — nearly three minutes behind Hansen — signaling a clear break between the race's two tiers. McLean's 5:56 pace in cool, damp conditions set the tone for a Masters Men race that was fast up front, competitive through the top five, and well-represented across all 139 finishers.