Boilermaker 5K F45-49: Ryan Holds Off Groh by Two Seconds

• Carla Ryan (Whitesboro, NY) wins F45-49 in 24:12 at a 7:47/mi pace — two seconds clear of runner-up Sara Groh.
• Sara Groh (Clinton, NY) finishes 2nd in 24:14, separated from the winner by the narrowest of margins in a 160-woman field.
• Lesley Krol-Vella completes the podium in 25:44 — a full 1:30 behind Groh and 1:32 ahead of 4th-place Agnieszka Kwiatkowska.
• The top 20 span just over 6:30 of finish time, from Ryan's 24:12 down to Lisa Winters' 30:50.

With 90% humidity hanging heavy over Utica on a July morning, the F45-49 race came down to a two-second verdict at the line. Carla Ryan of Whitesboro crossed in 24:12, running 7:47 per mile to claim the win. Right on her heels, Clinton's Sara Groh finished in 24:14 — two seconds and two places apart, but only two seconds of clock separating them after 3.1 miles of racing. It was the kind of finish that makes you check the results twice.

Behind that front-row battle, Lesley Krol-Vella of New Hartford ran a composed 8:17 pace to take 3rd in 25:44, putting real daylight between herself and the chase pack. Agnieszka Kwiatkowska — also of Whitesboro — finished 4th in 25:59, followed by Susan Keiffer (Herkimer) in 5th at 26:50 and Theresa Price (Baldwinsville) in 6th at 26:57. Those two were separated by just seven seconds, offering a secondary duel worth noting.

The middle of the field showed its own depth. Darcie Harris (7th, 27:26), Jennifer Cooper (8th, 27:45), and a tight cluster from 9th through 12th — Kimberly Schachtler, Meghan Klausner, Kristen Camilleri, and Carrie Sherwood — all finished within a four-second window between 28:28 and 28:41. In thick summer humidity, that kind of bunching reflects how evenly matched this group ran. All 160 finishers earned it on a day when the air itself was working against them.