F35-39 at CIM 2024: Wiltshire Runs Away With It

• Janet Wiltshire wins in 2:43:21 (6:14/mi), finishing nearly six minutes clear of the runner-up in a 466-woman F35-39 field.
• Tenkate, Campeau, and Brash separated by just 10 seconds across 2nd through 4th — all clocking 6:27/mi average.
• Lauren Ferrara, the biggest mover on the board, climbed from 111th among women at the first checkpoint all the way to 76th by the finish line.
• The 35K–40K segment was a battleground: Campeau posted the 54th-fastest women's split on that stretch, Tenkate the 55th, and Brash the 57th — three athletes in lockstep through the penultimate segment.

Janet Wiltshire of Truckee made this one look almost serene. Running 6:14 per mile across 26.2 miles on a mild Sacramento morning — 59°F, barely a breeze — she moved steadily through the women's field all day, climbing from 55th among women at the first checkpoint to 45th by 30K, then surging to 45th through 40K before a decisive close brought her home 45th among all women. Her 20th-fastest women's split on the final 40K-to-finish stretch sealed it. The winning margin of 5:40 over second place was never really in doubt.

Behind her, the race for the podium was a different story entirely. Melissa Tenkate (2:49:01), Kari Campeau (2:49:05), and Lucy Brash (2:49:11) ran what amounted to a three-way time trial, separated by a grand total of 10 seconds at the line. All three averaged 6:27/mi, and their 35K–40K splits were virtually identical — Campeau edged the segment 54th-fastest among women, Tenkate 55th, Brash 57th. The places were decided by margins too fine to see on a clock.

Lauren Ferrara of Roseville made the most dramatic journey of anyone in the top 20. Starting conservatively — 111th among women through the opening stretch — she worked her way up checkpoint by checkpoint, posting the 61st-fastest women's split from 30K to 35K, and finished 5th in the F35-39 group at 2:51:00. Christie Wetzel (2:51:09) and Alice Henley (2:51:32) rounded out the top seven, all within 32 seconds of each other in a race that rewarded patience and steady execution.