F60-69 at American River 50 – 25 Miler: Kortz Dominates, Ishizawa Closes Fast

• Kim Kortz won the F60-69 group in 5:22:42 (12:55/mi), finishing 27:48 ahead of runner-up Nancy Ishizawa — the largest gap on the podium.
• Nancy Ishizawa posted the 2nd-fastest women's split on the Last Gasp→Finish segment in the entire women's field, making her late charge the most electrifying moment in the age group.
• Kathy Finney claimed 3rd with the 9th-fastest women's split on Granite Bay→Rattlesnake Bar, moving from 13th among women at the opening checkpoint all the way to 10th by the finish.
• All five F60-69 finishers completed the course on a warm, clear day in Auburn — 73°F with full sun — a genuine test of pacing over 25 miles.

Kim Kortz ran a controlled, confident race from the gun. She entered the women's field at 6th after Granite Bay, pushed to 4th by Rattlesnake Bar — where she posted the 5th-fastest women's split on that segment — and settled into 5th among women for the remainder. Her 12:55/mi average held firm across the heat of the day, and her 5:22:42 was never seriously threatened within the F60-69 group. The gap to second place tells the story plainly: Ishizawa needed nearly 28 more minutes to cross the line.

Nancy Ishizawa had a trickier middle section, sliding from 7th among women after Granite Bay back to 11th at Rattlesnake Bar, before recovering to 9th by Last Gasp. Then she turned on the jets. That 2nd-fastest women's split on the final Last Gasp→Finish stretch is a remarkable number — the kind of closing kick that turns heads regardless of age group — and it secured her runner-up spot in 5:50:30. Kathy Finney, also of the Sacramento-area corridor, mirrored a similar pattern: a quiet start that blossomed into a strong middle segment, landing her 3rd in 5:56:25 with less than six minutes separating her from Ishizawa.

Stephanie Haugen and Susan Moser rounded out the five-finisher field. Haugen's strongest moment came on the Rattlesnake Bar→Last Gasp stretch — 17th among women on that leg — while Moser, racing on home turf in Auburn, posted the 14th-fastest women's split on Granite Bay→Rattlesnake Bar before fading in the back half to finish in 6:58:58. On a 73°F afternoon, simply finishing 25 miles at this level is no small thing.