Boilermaker 15K F35-39: Limo Claims the Crown in 51:04

• Cynthia Jerotic Limo won the F35-39 field in 51:04 (5:29/mi), moving from 7th to 6th among all women by the midpoint and holding that spot to the finish — posting the 5th-fastest women's split on the 5K→10K segment.
• Mare Dibaba Hurssa was runner-up in 52:11, sitting 10th among women through the middle miles and finishing there — 1:07 behind Limo in a field of 547.
• Tricia Longo rounded out the podium in 57:12 (6:08/mi), climbing from 22nd to 19th among women over the final stretch on the strength of the 19th-fastest women's split on the 5K→10K leg.
• Lucy Brash (4th, 59:48) and Donna Langerfeld (5th, 1:00:54) were separated by just 66 seconds, with Brash posting the 23rd-fastest women's split on the 10K→Finish to hold off Langerfeld's 1:00:54.

Cynthia Jerotic Limo of Iten brought serious credentials to Utica on Sunday — she finished 3rd among all women here in 2024 with a 49:20. This time she stepped up, taking the F35-39 title and moving to 6th among all women in 75°F heat and 90% humidity. The gap between that 2024 result and Sunday's 51:04 reflects the conditions more than any retreat in form, and nothing in the F35-39 field came close to challenging her.

Mare Dibaba Hurssa of West Chester, PA was the clear second-best in the group, running 5:36/mi to finish in 52:11 — more than a minute back of Limo but a full five minutes clear of third. She tracked consistently in the 9th–10th range among all women throughout the race, a composed, steady effort that earned the runner-up spot without drama.

Behind the top two, the race got genuinely interesting. Tricia Longo of Waterford, NY ran the 19th-fastest women's 5K→10K split in the entire field and used it to climb from 22nd to 19th among women, finishing 3rd in F35-39 at 57:12. Lucy Brash (4th, 59:48) and Donna Langerfeld (5th, 1:00:54) traded positions through the middle miles — Langerfeld was actually ahead of Brash at the 10K mark — but Brash's stronger closing split on the 10K→Finish leg proved decisive, with Liane Zalewski (6th, 1:01:12) only 18 seconds further back.