Men's Half Marathon: Hasby Leads Wire-to-Wire in Bismarck's Chill

• Eric Hasby, 19, wins in 1:15:47 (5:47/mi), holding the top spot from start to finish across all six checkpoints.
• John Watkins, 46, runs 1:17:03 — the fastest men's split from 2.5M to 4.8M, finishing 1:16 back in 2nd.
• Joshua Askvig, 42, closes in 1:18:36 with the 2nd-fastest men's split from 10.7M to the finish, moving from 4th to 3rd in the final miles.
• Brandon Schirado (12th, 1:30:23) and Rashun Fulton (17th, 1:32:13) both doubled up on race weekend, having also placed 3rd and 5th in the men's 5K respectively.

In 39°F conditions under clear skies in Bismarck, 19-year-old Eric Hasby never relinquished an inch of real estate. He sat at the front from the opening miles and posted the fastest men's split between 4.8M and 6.7M — the midrace stretch where races are often decided — finishing in 1:15:47 at a 5:47/mi clip. It was a commanding, unflappable performance across a men's field of 214.

The chase was anything but static. John Watkins, 46, was the most aggressive mover in the early going, climbing from 3rd to 2nd by 2.5M and owning the fastest men's split on that 2.5M-to-4.8M segment. He never let go of that 2nd place, crossing in 1:17:03 — a 5:53/mi average that would have won most half marathons outright. Joshua Askvig, 42, was the story of the back half: patient through the middle miles in 4th, he unleashed the 2nd-fastest men's closing split from 10.7M to the finish to overtake 3rd and finish in 1:18:36.

Further down the leaderboard, Ryan Albano (4th, 1:23:30) and Jacob Burmeister (5th, 1:24:42) were late movers, both gaining places in the final segments. Ryan Ballard (6th, 1:24:47) finished just five seconds behind Burmeister after running the same 6:28/mi average — a near-identical clock but a clear gap on the course. Jimmy Skjod, 57, deserves a mention all his own: 8th place in 1:27:47 in a men's field that skewed considerably younger.

The weekend double-dippers added another layer of interest: Brandon Schirado (12th, 1:30:23) had already claimed 3rd in the men's 5K, and Rashun Fulton (17th, 1:32:13) backed up his 5th-place 5K finish with a 7:02/mi half marathon effort. Racing twice in one weekend — and placing in both — is no small feat.