F25-29 at CIM 2021: Lichter Runs Down the Field to Take the Age Group

• Jennifer Lichter wins in 2:39:04 (6:04/mi), climbing from 34th to 18th among women on her way to the F25-29 title.
• Top three separated by just 64 seconds: Lichter (2:39:04), Adrian Walsh (2:39:22), Joanna Reyes (2:40:08).
• Reyes ran the 12th-fastest 5K–15K split among women but faded from 1st to 24th in the women's field by the finish — the race's most dramatic arc.
• Moira O'Connor Lenth posted the 17th-fastest 30K–40K split among women, surging from 34th to 26th in the women's field across that stretch to lock up 5th in F25-29.

Jennifer Lichter, 25, from Whitefish, Montana, delivered the most methodical performance of the day in the F25-29 age group. Starting conservatively — 34th among women through the early miles — she reeled in competitors checkpoint by checkpoint, reaching 18th among women at the gun. Her closing 40K-to-finish stretch ranked 10th fastest among all women, a finishing kick that left no doubt about the result. Her 2:39:04 at 6:04 per mile was the standard everyone else was chasing.

Adrian Walsh of Denver was the closest challenger, crossing in 2:39:22 — just 18 seconds off Lichter's mark. Walsh's strength showed in the middle miles, where her Half-to-30K split ranked 14th among women, and she moved from 33rd all the way to 19th in the women's field at that point. A slight fade in the final stretch dropped her back to 21st among women, but she held on for a convincing 2nd in F25-29. Joanna Reyes of San Jose made for the day's most compelling storyline: she led the women's field at the 5K mark and was still posting the 12th-fastest 5K–15K split among women, but the effort came at a cost. By 40K she had slipped to 24th among women, finishing 3rd in the age group in 2:40:08 — still a superb result, just not the one that early pace suggested.

Behind the podium, Bryn Morales (4th, 2:40:42) and O'Connor Lenth (5th, 2:41:12) rounded out a tight top five covered by just over two minutes. Erin Menefee (6th, 2:42:51) and Rebecca Lavietes (7th, 2:42:59) were separated by only eight seconds, while the top 20 of the 353 F25-29 finishers were all home inside 2:52 — a remarkably deep field on a cool, calm Sacramento morning.