F70-74 at CIM 2024: Koonce Runs Away With It

• Suzanne Koonce won the F70-74 age group in 3:59:57 (9:09/mi), the only finisher to break four hours.
• 13:42 separated Koonce from runner-up Young-Sook Kwon (4:13:39) — the largest gap between any two adjacent podium spots in the group.
• The tightest battle of the day: Marsha Deere and Diane Tracy finished 5th and 6th just 18 seconds apart (4:48:21 vs. 4:48:39).
• Eight women finished across a 54:40 window, from Koonce's 3:59:57 to Suzanne Barron's 4:54:37.

Suzanne Koonce, 73, from Menlo Park, delivered the headline performance of the F70-74 age group — a 3:59:57 that not only won the field but stood alone on the right side of four hours. Running 9:09 per mile, she was never seriously threatened. Her movement through the women's field tells the story: she climbed steadily from 1,773rd among women at the first checkpoint all the way to 1,565th by the finish, passing over 200 women in the second half of the race. Her closing split from 40K to the finish ranked 1,260th among all women — a strong finish when it mattered.

Young-Sook Kwon, 71, of Los Angeles, was solid in second at 4:13:39 (9:40/mi), though she faded slightly through the women's field in the back half, settling into 1,810th among women at the finish after sitting as high as 1,830th at the 30K mark. Gail Leland, 74 — the oldest finisher in the group — claimed third in 4:25:02, and Martha Aarons of Aspen rounded out the top four at 4:27:14, just over two minutes back.

The race for fifth was the day's closest contest. Marsha Deere, 70, and Diane Tracy, 73, ran practically in lockstep through the final miles, separated by just 18 seconds at the tape — 4:48:21 to 4:48:39. Aida de La Torre and Suzanne Barron closed out the eight-woman field within six minutes of each other, ensuring the back of the pack was as competitive in spirit as the front.