Results/Photos

Date: Aug. 22, 2026 Participant: Jonathan Gonzalez #362 Race: 2026 Habanero Marathon Distance: 26.2 miles

Steady Age-Group Contender Battles Through a Slowing Course Competing in the marathon distance at the 2026 Habanero Hundred, Jonathan Gonzalez covered 25.9 miles in 6:40:42, finishing 9th overall and 9th among men in a field of 39. Remarkably consistent, he held 3rd place in the M30-39 division for nearly the entire race, slipping only briefly to 2nd at mile 2 before locking back into 3rd from mile 3 onward and staying there through the finish. Gonzalez opened aggressively, clocking a 12:50 first mile and a race-best 12:02 split on mile 2, keeping his elapsed pace under 13:00/mile through the first four miles. The middle miles told a different story as the course's notorious heat took hold splits crept into the 15-17 minute range by mile 10, and mile 14 produced his slowest split of the day at 20:54, pushing his elapsed pace past 15:00/mile for the remainder of the race. This stretch is a useful marker for future pacing strategy, as the fade coincided with the section of the course runners describe as deep sand under triple-digit real-feel temperatures. Notably, Gonzalez found a second wind late, firing off a 13:23 split at mile 19 and a 13:35 split at mile 22 two of his fastest of the second half before closing with a 17:20 final mile to finish at a 15:28/mile elapsed pace. Racing on the event's signature 10km loop, where no runner is ever more than three miles from an aid station, Gonzalez's ability to rally in the closing miles despite the mid-race slowdown is a strong foundation to build on for pacing more evenly through the heat in future editions.