Cleveland 10K — F65-69: Nemeth Pulls Clear in the Humidity

• Cheryl Nemeth won the F65-69 age group in 58:05 (9:21/mi), the only finisher to break the one-hour mark.
• Tammy Wilson-Rice was 1:10 back at 59:15 — a clear runner-up but the two were in a class of their own, finishing more than 11 minutes ahead of 3rd place.
• Marianne Mitri and Daphne Olree staged the day's tightest battle: just 16 seconds separated 6th from 7th after 6.2 miles in 67°F heat and 83% humidity.
• The F65-69 field stretched across nearly 54 minutes from first to last — a testament to the range of effort on a heavy, humid morning.

Cheryl Nemeth, 65, from Middleburg Heights, was simply in a different gear. Her 9:21/mi average held up through conditions that would slow most runners — thick air, a 15 mph wind, and humidity pushing into the mid-80s — and she crossed the line more than a minute ahead of anyone else in the age group. Wilson-Rice, also 65 and running 9:32/mi, gave chase and made it competitive on paper, but Nemeth never needed to look over her shoulder.

Behind that front pair, a gap of more than 11 minutes opened before Lynne Valencic claimed 3rd in 1:10:45, with Katherine Dixon close enough to keep it honest — 1:31 back in 4th at 1:12:16. Lori Ulaszewski rounded out the top five in 1:16:08, and then came the afternoon's sharpest contest: Marianne Mitri (6th, 1:18:58) and Daphne Olree (7th, 1:19:14) spent the better part of 6.2 miles essentially side by side, separated at the finish by just 16 seconds.

The back half of the field showed real grit in tough conditions. Wanda Brown, the group's eldest at 69, finished 10th in 1:42:19 — a full 44 minutes after Nemeth, but moving through heat and wind that took something from everyone. Theresa Hutchins closed it out in 14th at 1:52:03, completing a field of 14 that ranged widely in pace but shared the same heavy Cleveland morning.