Masters Men 10K: Nguyen Dominates the Redwoods

• Romain Nguyen won the Masters Men field in 59:05 (9:31/mi) — the only finisher to break the hour mark among 22 Masters men.
• Nguyen held 2nd among all men from start to finish, posting the 2nd-fastest men's split on the Skyline 1→Finish segment.
• John Choi, 53, claimed 3rd in 1:05:09 — the top finisher among the older half of the field, edging Trond Kristiansen (52) by just over a minute.
• Michel Garcia made the most dramatic move of the race, surging from 13th to 7th among men on the Skyline 1→Finish leg to claim 5th in the Masters field.

Romain Nguyen put together a commanding performance through Huddart County Park's moss-draped redwood corridors, crossing in 59:05 at a 9:31/mi clip — the only Masters man to finish under an hour and a full five minutes clear of the next finisher. He was locked in at 2nd among all men from the opening segment to the tape, and his 2nd-fastest men's split on the Skyline 1→Finish stretch confirmed he wasn't just holding position — he was pushing all the way to the line.

Behind him, the battle for the podium was genuinely competitive. Stan Vinokur (1:04:06) moved from 6th to 4th among men on that same final stretch — the 4th-fastest men's split there — to take 2nd in the Masters field. John Choi (1:05:09, 10:29/mi) followed in 3rd, and at 53 he was the standout among the field's older competitors. Trond Kristiansen (52, 1:06:02) ran the 5th-fastest men's closing split but couldn't quite close the gap, finishing 4th just over a minute back.

The most eye-catching move in the second half belonged to Michel Garcia, who climbed from 13th to 7th among men on the Skyline 1→Finish leg — the 6th-fastest men's split on that segment — to finish 5th in the Masters field in 1:11:05. Fabrizio Gabrielli (1:11:44) and Stephen Wright (1:13:43) rounded out the top seven, with Wright, at 58, a notable presence near the front. And at 69, Chuck McGadden of San Carlos crossed in 1:15:54 to claim 9th — a result worth its own appreciation in a field that stretched all the way to 2:20:59.