Shamrock 8K M40-44: Ryan Foster Defends His Turf in 26:58

• Foster wins in 26:58 (5:25/mi), improving on his 8th-place men's finish here in 2025 (27:19) to claim the M40-44 title outright.
• 80-second gap to 2nd: Ryan Kent crossed in 28:18 (5:42/mi), with Ben Adams-Hopkins a further 1:42 back in 3rd at 30:00 (6:02/mi).
• Tight 4th–6th battle: Zachary Herrmann (31:23), Jay Mccabe (31:45), and Jason Wahr (31:43) were separated by just 22 seconds — with Wahr actually clocking a faster finish time than Mccabe yet landing 6th to his 5th.
• 297 finishers completed the M40-44 race on a cool, breezy Virginia Beach morning (53°F, 10 mph wind).

Ryan Foster came to Shamrock with unfinished business. A year ago he crossed the line 8th among the men in 27:19; this time he converted that experience into a commanding M40-44 victory, running 5:25/mi to finish in 26:58 — 21 seconds faster than his 2025 effort. He held his position firmly through every checkpoint, sitting 8th among men through the first half and closing 9th on the men's side at the finish — a performance anchored by the 9th-fastest men's split on the 2M–4M stretch, right in the heart of the course.

Ryan Kent (28:18, 5:42/mi) was a steady presence throughout, holding 11th among the men from start to finish and posting the 10th-fastest men's split on the second half. He was never threatened for 2nd. Ben Adams-Hopkins (30:00, 6:02/mi) rounded out the podium in 3rd, also consistent from gun to tape, with the 14th-fastest men's split on the 2M–4M segment.

The race's most entertaining subplot unfolded in the 4th-through-6th corridor. Zachary Herrmann (31:23, 6:19/mi) moved from 27th to 25th among the men across the second half, posting the 27th-fastest men's split on that stretch to lock down 4th. Just behind him, Jay Mccabe and Jason Wahr finished within two seconds of each other — Wahr's 31:43 edging Mccabe's 31:45 on the clock, yet the timing chips placed Mccabe 5th and Wahr 6th. Both averaged 6:23/mi, with Mccabe owning the 31st-fastest men's split from 4M to the finish.

Adam Lipman (7th, 43:05, 8:40/mi) and Shaun Byrne (8th, 32:51, 6:37/mi) — listed out of strict time order — reflect the breadth of this 297-strong field, which stretched from Foster's sub-27 scorcher all the way to Larry Hill's gutsy 1:06:56 (15th, 13:28/mi). Every pace, every story, counted.