Boilermaker 5K Women: Juliet Hull Runs Away With It

• Juliet Hull wins in 19:05 (6:09/mi) — a 1:25 gap over 2nd place that was never in doubt.
• Ashley Rathbun and Gianna Giruzzi finished 2nd and 3rd in 20:30 and 20:31 — separated by a single second across 3.1 miles.
• Gianna Giruzzi climbed from 4th in 2024 (21:16) to the podium in 2025, cutting 45 seconds off her time.
• Keelyn Simpson, just 17, moved from 7th in 2024 (21:43) to 4th in 2025 (20:52) — a 51-second improvement in one year.

Juliet Hull, 27, from Belmont, NC, put on a clinic in Utica's thick summer air — 75°F and 90% humidity — and it didn't slow her down. Her 19:05 at 6:09/mi was in a different conversation from everyone else in a women's field of 2,233. The margin to 2nd place was 1 minute and 25 seconds, a gap that speaks for itself.

The battle for 2nd and 3rd was a completely different story. Ashley Rathbun (32, Westfield, NJ) and Gianna Giruzzi (30, Clayville, NY) crossed in 20:30 and 20:31 — one tick of the clock between them after more than three miles of racing. Rathbun holds 2nd on the strength of that razor-thin margin, but Giruzzi has plenty to celebrate: she was 4th here in 2024 with a 21:16, and this year she's on the podium a full 45 seconds faster.

Fourth place belongs to a name to watch: Keelyn Simpson, 17, of Utica, finished in 20:52 — her second consecutive top-ten at this race, and a 51-second improvement over her 21:43 from 2024. Running at home and running faster each year, Simpson is building a compelling record here. Rounding out the top five, Cassandra Furness (34, Whitesboro, NY) crossed in 21:22, with 16-year-old Alex French of New Hartford right behind her in 21:30 — two more reminders that this women's field runs deep across ages.

Further back, Jasmin Gonzalez-Rivera (19, Utica) finished 10th in 22:01 — notably, she was 5th here in 2024 at 21:17, so this year's result represents a small step back. Meanwhile, Sue Dehaan, 58, of Montreal finished 19th in 23:37, one of the more quietly impressive results in the top 20 of a 2,233-woman field.