Results/Photos

Date: Feb. 1, 2026 Participant: Max McBride #21887 Race: 2026 Surf City Marathon Distance: 26.2 miles

Strong Start and Consistent Pace Lead to Breakthrough Finish Max McBride of Arroyo Grande ran a commendable marathon at the 2026 Surf City event. Max maintained a steady pace, with splits mostly in the 5:52 to 6:07 min/mile range, contributing to an overall pace of 5:59 min/mile. His 26th mile was particularly impressive, completing it with a 5:58 min/mile pace, which helped solidify his top-place finish at that split. The race concluded with him clocking in at 2:37:02, securing 2nd place in the M30-34 division among 2517 participants. Max demonstrated consistency throughout, positioning around fifth overall, with fluctuations appearing mainly at notable points like the 16th mile, where he ranked 3rd. The performance indicates a robust pacing strategy. There is potential for improvement in maintaining steadier mile splits in the latter part of the race, specifically between miles 20 and 25, which showed some slight deceleration. Overall, this is a solid foundation on which to build in future races.