Cleveland Marathon 5K — F70-74: Pellegrin Dominates a Deep Local Field

• Joan Pellegrin won the F70-74 group in 28:16 (9:06/mi), finishing more than 5½ minutes clear of 2nd-place Anne Wainright.
• Anne Wainright (33:50) and Marian Sutton (40:32) rounded out the podium, separated by nearly 7 minutes.
• Pamela Komer and Barbara Tucky finished 5th and 6th just 4 seconds apart — the tightest gap of the entire race among this group.
• All 10 women finished, representing communities from Cleveland to Gettysburg, PA.

Joan Pellegrin made the F70-74 race her own from the outset. The 71-year-old Cleveland local crossed in 28:16 — a 9:06/mi clip that, on a humid 67°F morning with a 15 mph wind, was a genuinely commanding effort. Her margin over runner-up Anne Wainright of Westlake was 5 minutes and 34 seconds, a gap that tells you this wasn't a close contest at the front.

Wainright (33:50, 10:53/mi) was solid in 2nd, and Marian Sutton of Gettysburg, PA — the only out-of-towner on the podium — claimed 3rd in 40:32. Geraldine Anthony of Shaker Heights was right behind in 4th at 41:16, meaning just 44 seconds separated 3rd and 4th place in a race where the top two were long gone.

The most gripping battle of the day played out for 5th and 6th. Pamela Komer (Parma) finished in 48:12 and Barbara Tucky (Pepper Pike) in 48:16 — just four seconds and a couple of strides between them after 3.1 miles. Barb Richardson rounded out the top seven in 52:26, while Carol Dalessandro, Rita Carfagna, and Mary Ann Bushak completed all 10 finishers, the last three crossing between 1:06 and 1:10. Every woman who started, finished — no small thing on a heavy, windy May morning in Cleveland.