Emma Johnson Rules F25-29 in Cleveland's Heat

• Emma Johnson won the F25-29 age group in 1:28:59 (6:47/mi), finishing 7th among all women in the race.
• Olivia Stein staged the most dramatic climb of the day, moving from 48th among women at the 5K mark all the way to 20th by the finish — a gain of 28 places.
• The podium spread was tight at the top but opened up fast: just 1:36 separated 1st from 3rd, while 7:20 stood between 3rd and 6th.
• Cassandra Ponzi (5th, 1:36:19) ran the 19th-fastest women's split on the 5K–10K stretch but faded from 11th among women at 10K to 29th at the finish — one of the day's more pronounced second-half slowdowns.

Emma Johnson made her move early and held it. Sitting 6th among women through the opening 5K — posting the 5th-fastest women's split on that stretch — she settled into 7th by the halfway mark and never surrendered the lead in F25-29, crossing in 1:28:59. At 6:47 per mile on a 75°F morning with 68% humidity, that was a composed, disciplined effort from start to finish.

The most compelling subplot belonged to Olivia Stein. Starting the race buried in 48th among women, she was methodical and relentless — 38th at 10K, 20th by the 12.6-mile mark, 20th at the line — with the 8th-fastest women's split on the 10K–12.6M segment powering her charge. She finished 2nd in the age group in 1:33:50, more than four minutes clear of anyone who started the race ahead of her in the women's field.

Caroline Voegele (3rd, 1:34:35) and Anna Staats (4th, 1:34:42) were locked in a seven-second battle for the final podium spot, with Voegele holding on by that slim margin. Both ran 7:13/mi averages, and Staats — who climbed from 40th among women at the 5K to 25th at the finish — had the 19th-fastest women's split on the 10K–12.6M leg but couldn't quite reel in the Cleveland local. In a field of 535 finishers in F25-29, those seven seconds felt enormous.