Shamrock 8K M35-39: Mazzanti Surges to the Tape

• Robert Mazzanti won M35-39 in 25:39 (5:10/mi), posting the 4th-fastest men's second-half split in the entire men's field — the move that sealed it.
• Matthew Fiano took 2nd in 31:02 (6:15/mi), logging the 28th-fastest men's 4M→Finish split to close strong.
• Steven Preskitt rounded out the podium in 31:58 (6:26/mi), with the 40th-fastest men's 4M→Finish split edging out 4th-place Ryan Davis (32:37, 6:34/mi) by 39 seconds.
• A field of 270 finishers in M35-39 made this one of the day's most competitive age groups on the Virginia Beach course.

Robert Mazzanti came to run — and then ran harder. The 37-year-old from Richmond entered the second half sitting 5th among men overall, and that's when he shifted gears. His second-half split ranked 4th among all men in the field, a surge that carried him from 5th to 3rd among men overall by the finish line. In M35-39, it was never close: Mazzanti crossed in 25:39 at a 5:10/mi clip, more than five minutes clear of the rest of his cohort.

Behind him, the battle for 2nd and 3rd was a story of strong closers. Matthew Fiano (35, Virginia Beach) ran a patient first half before turning it on with the 28th-fastest men's 4M→Finish split, finishing in 31:02. Steven Preskitt (35, Toano) wasn't far behind at 31:58, his own 40th-fastest men's closing split enough to hold off Ryan Davis (38, Virginia Beach, 32:37) by 39 seconds. Davis himself moved steadily through the men's field all race long — from 63rd to 49th among men — but couldn't quite bridge the gap to the podium.

Steve Thornton (37, Norfolk) rounded out the top five in 32:49, holding a steady 53rd place among men through the second half without a dramatic surge or fade — just clean, consistent running at 6:36/mi. Ken Fay (38, Plainville, CT) in 6th and Jon Wiegand (39, Virginia Beach) in 7th at 33:43 kept the pressure on through the top ten, where times tightened considerably. From 7th through 15th, the spread was just over a minute — Jonathan Allen (33:53), Brandon Barbarini (34:05), Bryce Williams (34:13), Kendal Copping (34:20), Michael Axel (34:26), Christopher Boothe (34:31), David Chatman (34:43), and James Hala (35:07) all running within striking distance of one another on a mild Virginia Beach morning.