F35-39 at Berlin: Cheptoo Dominates, but the Sub-2:25 Battle Is the Real Story

• Viola Cheptoo wins F35-39 in 2:21:40 (5:24/mi), posting the 5th-fastest women's split on the second half to seal a commanding victory.
• Domenika Mayer and Aleksandra Lisowska both ran blistering closing kilometers — the 6th- and 3rd-fastest women's splits respectively from 40K to the finish — separated by just 1:43 at the line.
• Places 4 and 5 flip on the clock: Katja Goldring finished 2:37:37 but placed 5th; Lisa Hart crossed in 2:37:46 yet placed 4th — Hart's aggressive second-half surge through the women's field (climbing from 45th to 20th among women between 5K and 30K) earned her the edge by timing finer than the displayed times.
• 2,713 women aged 35–39 finished Berlin 2025, making this one of the deepest age groups on the course.

Viola Cheptoo owned the F35-39 race from start to finish, but it was the back half of the marathon where she truly asserted herself. Sitting 9th among women through the early checkpoints, she began moving — 7th, then 5th, then 4th by the finish — and her second-half split ranked 5th among all women on the course. A 2:21:40 at 5:24 per mile is a performance that doesn't need context to impress.

Behind her, Domenika Mayer and Aleksandra Lisowska waged a compelling battle for 2nd and 3rd. Mayer was the steadier mover throughout, climbing from 14th to 8th among women with consistent progression at every checkpoint. Lisowska was the late charger — she was still 13th among women at 35K — but her 40K-to-finish split was the 3rd-fastest among all women on the course. That burst got her to 11th among women overall but couldn't quite close a 1:43 gap to Mayer. Both women finished under 2:25, which tells you everything about the quality at the top of this age group.

The 4th-place story belongs to Lisa Hart, whose race unfolded in reverse of the typical fade. She was 45th among women at 5K — and then simply started passing people, all the way to 20th among women by the finish. Her 30K–35K split ranked 20th among women, and she edged Katja Goldring for 4th in F35-39 despite Goldring's faster clock. Goldring had been the quicker starter — her 5K–10K split ranked 19th among women — but Hart's relentless second-half charge made the difference where it counted.