NB 25–29: Flores surges late to claim the title in San Francisco

• Chris Flores won in 3:20:50 (7:40/mi), posting the fastest non-binary split on the 9.86M→10.5M segment and making a decisive move from 2nd to 1st in the gender standings at that stretch.
• Venus Garcia held 3rd place in the gender standings from mile 12 to the finish, crossing in 3:35:45 (8:14/mi) for a comfortable 2nd in the NB 25–29 field — nearly 15 minutes back of Flores.
• Finn Polakov was the division's biggest mover, climbing from 6th to 5th in the gender standings and posting the 3rd-fastest non-binary split on the 14M→16M segment en route to a 3:55:29 finish.
• Five finishers completed the NB 25–29 race across a span of 1:34:27, from Flores's 3:20:50 to Sean Mangan's 4:55:17.

The NB 25–29 race at the 2026 San Francisco Marathon played out under cool, breezy conditions — 59°F with 15 mph winds off the bay — and it was Chris Flores who ultimately had the sharpest answer when it mattered most. Running at a 7:40/mi clip, Flores sat at 2nd in the gender standings through most of the race, then seized the fastest non-binary split on the 9.86M→10.5M stretch to briefly crack into the lead before settling into the top spot in the NB 25–29 field at the finish. The 3:20:50 winning time is a full quarter-hour clear of the rest of the field.

Venus Garcia ran a composed, consistent race from Carson, CA — moving from 4th in the gender standings to 3rd by mile 12 and never relinquishing that spot. Garcia's 3:35:45 (8:14/mi) and the 2nd-fastest non-binary split on the 10.5M→12M segment made for a strong runner-up performance, though the gap to Flores was never seriously in doubt after the midrace surge.

Finn Polakov was the quiet story of the day. The Allen Park native started 6th in the gender standings and drifted as far back as 8th before reeling off the 3rd-fastest non-binary split on the 14M→16M segment — the best late-race move in the NB 25–29 field — to finish 3rd in 3:55:29. Ishaan Polakov — a local San Franciscan racing on home streets — came 4th in 4:29:25, while Sean Mangan of Minneapolis rounded out the five-person field in 4:55:17, having shown his best pace early with the 10th-fastest non-binary split on the 4M→6M segment.