Masters Men: Amaral Dominates While the Podium Battles Rage Behind Him

• Paulo Amaral, 45, wins in 2:49:09 (6:27/mi), holding 3rd among all men from start to finish and posting the 3rd-fastest men's split on the 2.5M–4.8M stretch.
• Ryan Shrum, 58, edges Robert Fisher, 41, by 1:10 — Shrum's 7th-fastest men's split on the 21.9M–23.8M segment and Fisher's 5th-fastest men's split from 23.8M to the finish tell the story of two runners clawing back late.
• Michael Nash climbs 21 spots among the men (36th to 15th) to finish 5th in Masters Men at 3:26:17, posting the 8th-fastest men's split in the final 23.8M–Finish segment.
• Bryan Baroffio, 67, finishes 9th in Masters Men at 3:39:46 — the oldest finisher in the listed field by a considerable margin.

Paulo Amaral made this one look straightforward, which is the hardest thing to do in a marathon. The Lowell, MA native ran a controlled 6:27/mi through cool, humid Bismarck air — 58°F and 92% humidity — and never wavered from 3rd among all men across every single checkpoint. His 3rd-fastest men's split on the 2.5M–4.8M segment showed he wasn't just cruising; he was pushing the pace early and sustaining it. He crossed in 2:49:09, a full 25 minutes ahead of 2nd place — a margin that made the Masters Men title a formality well before the finish line.

The real drama unfolded behind him. Ryan Shrum, a 58-year-old from Rossville, GA, had been running mid-pack among the men for most of the race, sitting 13th at the 21.9M mark. Then he turned on the jets: his 7th-fastest men's split on that 21.9M–23.8M segment moved him to 11th among the men and secured 2nd in Masters Men at 3:14:22. Robert Fisher, the local Bismarck runner, answered with the 5th-fastest men's split from 23.8M to the finish, climbing from 12th to 10th among the men — but Shrum's earlier surge had already opened a 1:10 gap that Fisher couldn't fully close, finishing 3rd in 3:15:32.

Nash's charge deserves its own mention: starting 36th among men and 5th in Masters Men at 3:26:17, he made steady, relentless progress through the field all race long, ultimately posting the 8th-fastest men's split in the closing miles to seal his top-five result. Meanwhile, Baroffio's 3:39:46 at age 67 stands as one of the quiet highlights of the day — 9th in a competitive Masters Men field of 54.