Shamrock Marathon M35-39: Greenlaw Defends, But Can't Quite Match His Own Standard

• Jerry Greenlaw wins M35-39 in 2:30:04 (5:43/mi), defending his 2025 Shamrock title (2:27:28) — the gap to 2nd place Jakub Kolacz was a commanding 14:53.
• Biggest mover in the top 10: Ryan Beberus climbed from 40th among men at the final checkpoint to finish 5th in M35-39 (2:54:08), posting the 33rd-fastest split in the field on the late 35K–25.2M stretch.
• Brendan Jones faded late: He sat 14th among men through the first three checkpoints before slipping back to finish 4th (2:51:29), while Tyler Koon held steadier to claim 3rd in 2:49:21.
• A deep field of 220 finishers, with the top 13 all breaking 3:05 on a humid, breezy Virginia Beach morning.

Jerry Greenlaw came back to Shamrock as the defending men's champion — and he delivered again, crossing in 2:30:04 to take the M35-39 title by nearly 15 minutes. The Alexandria runner held 4th among all men through most of the race before surging into 2nd in the men's field over the final stretch, posting the 3rd-fastest men's split on the 10K–15K segment along the way. He couldn't quite replicate his 2:27:28 from 2025 — the 55°F, 95% humidity, and 11 mph wind off the Virginia Beach coast had something to say about that — but a title defense is a title defense.

Behind Greenlaw, the race for the podium was a study in contrasts. Brendan Jones looked like a strong contender early, sitting 14th among men at the 5K mark and posting the 14th-fastest men's split on that opening 5K–10K segment. But the back half undid him — he drifted to 35th among men by the finish, landing 4th in M35-39 at 2:51:29. Tyler Koon, meanwhile, ran the more patient race: sitting 38th among men early, he steadily worked his way up, clocking the 25th-fastest men's split on the 15K–20K leg and finishing 3rd in 2:49:21. Jakub Kolacz was consistent throughout, never straying far from the 15th–18th range among men, and secured 2nd in 2:44:57 at 6:17/mi.

The back of the top 10 was tight and punishing. Ryan Beberus (2:54:08) and Jacob Deese (2:54:11) finished 5th and 6th separated by just three seconds, with Beberus making a notable late charge through the field. Joe Kane (2:58:25), Donnie Otero (2:59:01), and Daniel Cao (2:59:22) all squeezed in under three hours, before Brett Sherfy (3:00:37) and Yannick Timmer (3:00:47) rounded out the top 11 — six men in under 2:30 of racing time separated by just 2:22.