Results/Photos

Date: Sept. 27, 2026 Participant: Cooper Wark #10763 Race: 2026 Boulderthon Marathon Distance: 26.2 miles

Steady Pacing Through 20 Miles Fuels Top-5% Finish Cooper Wark finished the marathon in 3:39:22, placing 161st overall and 139th among men a top-5% result in a field of 3,305 at this altitude event in Boulder, sitting over 5,000 feet. His early-and-mid-race pacing was remarkably even, holding between 7:46 and 8:16 per mile from mile 3 through mile 20, before the closing 10K slowed into the 8:499:57 range as fatigue set in over the final miles. His strongest stretch came from mile 11 to mile 18, where he clicked off splits between 7:46 and 8:15, tightening his overall pace to its fastest point of the race near 8:02 per mile. That stretch carried him past the lululemon Power-Up Zone at mile 22.5 before the finish on the Pearl Street Mall in downtown Boulder. Holding closer to that mid-race rhythm over the last 10K could be a useful focus for a future race.