Cleveland Marathon F45-49: Economos Runs Away from the Field

• Julie Economos wins in 3:22:06 (7:42/mi), finishing more than 18 minutes clear of runner-up Jennie Swires — the largest gap on the F45-49 podium.
• Stephanie Lucas posted the most dramatic charge in the group, moving from well outside the top 100 women at the 10K to 69th among women by the finish — a relentless, race-long climb.
• Sandy Reich closed hard, recording the 41st-fastest women's split on the 22.5M-to-finish segment to move from 80th to 62nd among women and seal third place in the F45-49 group.
• Georgette Taylor and Stephanie Lucas finished just 23 seconds apart (3:47:23 vs. 3:47:46) for 4th and 5th, the tightest battle on the board all day in this group.

Julie Economos made the 75°F humidity look like a minor inconvenience. Running 7:42 per mile out of Brookhaven, GA, she steadily carved through the women's field — moving from 57th among women at the opening checkpoint all the way to 25th by the finish. She didn't just lead the F45-49 group; she was pulling away from the broader women's race all morning long. Her 12th-fastest women's split on the 22.5M-to-finish stretch confirmed she wasn't coasting home either.

Behind her, Jennie Swires held a composed, consistent race at 8:25/mi to claim second in 3:40:31, while Sandy Reich — traveling from Amstelveen — made the podium the hard way, starting 80th among women and grinding forward the entire race before a strong final segment locked up third. The real thriller for fourth place unfolded over the final miles: Georgette Taylor had built a lead on Stephanie Lucas through the back half, but Lucas was flying — her 26th-fastest women's split on the 22.5M-to-finish segment nearly erased it entirely, leaving just 23 seconds between them at the line.

Across all 38 finishers, the spread from Economos's 3:22:06 to the back of the pack reflects the full range of effort on a warm, humid Cleveland morning. But the story of the day in F45-49 belongs to Economos — controlled, progressive, and never seriously threatened.