California International Marathon 2025: Leopold leads wire-to-wire among the women

• Elizabeth Leopold, 45, wins in 4:53:48 (11:12/mi), holding 1st place at every checkpoint from start to finish.
• Closest battle of the day: Audrua Sysum (2nd, 5:00:56) and Mai Nakamoto (3rd, 5:00:56) finish in the same clock time — but Sysum edges ahead by the finest of margins where it counts.
• Nakamoto's late surge: Nakamoto moved up to 2nd between 25K and 30K before Sysum reclaimed the position — the race's sharpest position swap.
• Kieu Chu, 54, rounds out the women's field in 5:29:36 (12:34/mi), posting the 2nd-fastest women's split on the 25K–30K segment.

Elizabeth Leopold never gave anyone a reason to doubt her. The 45-year-old Folsom local led the women's race from the opening miles and never relinquished the top spot, checking in 1st at every single checkpoint on her way to a 4:53:48 finish at 11:12 per mile. She also owned the fastest women's split on the 10K–15K segment, a stretch where she clearly pressed the pace on CIM's net-downhill course. Her margin at the line — over seven minutes ahead of the next finisher — left no drama about the outcome.

The real theater unfolded behind her, where Antioch's Audrua Sysum and Elk Grove's Mai Nakamoto ran one of the tightest shadow races of the morning. Sysum held 2nd through the early miles, with Nakamoto in 3rd — and Sysum was the faster runner on the 5K–10K segment, posting the fastest women's split there while Nakamoto was second-fastest on the same stretch. But Nakamoto flipped the script between 25K and 30K, briefly climbing to 2nd before Sysum reasserted herself and reclaimed the position. In the end, both women crossed in 5:00:56, with Sysum holding 2nd by a margin too slim to show on the clock but real enough in the results.

Kieu Chu, 54, ran a steady race from the back of the women's field, holding 4th at every checkpoint and finishing in 5:29:36 at 12:34 per mile. She showed a flash of strength on the 25K–30K segment, where she posted the 2nd-fastest women's split — a sign that the Galt runner was still finding her legs deep into the race.