N20-24: Nat Green takes the age group in Cleveland's heat

• Nat Green finished in 2:25:52 (11:08/mi), winning the N20-24 age group and holding 2nd among women throughout the entire race.
• Reid Hippe crossed in 3:22:08 (15:25/mi), posting the 4th-fastest women's split on the 10K→12.6M segment.
• Green's strongest moment came late: she ran the fastest women's split from 12.6M to the finish, closing hard in 75°F heat and humidity.
• The two finishers were separated by 56 minutes and 16 seconds.

Nat Green made the N20-24 age group look like her personal race from the gun. The 24-year-old from Shaker Heights locked into 2nd among women at the first checkpoint and never budged from that spot, holding steady through a warm and humid Cleveland morning. Her 11:08/mi average tells a story of controlled effort — and then, when it mattered most, she turned up the dial. From 12.6 miles to the finish, she ran the fastest women's split in the field, a finishing kick that underscored just how well she managed the conditions.

Reid Hippe, also 24, made the trip from St. Petersburg, FL to Cleveland and showed genuine speed in the middle miles — her 10K→12.6M split ranked 4th among all women in the race, a stretch that suggested real competitive instincts. But at 15:25/mi overall, the 75°F heat and 68% humidity took their toll across the full 13.1 miles, and the gap to Green widened to nearly an hour by the finish line. Still, that mid-race segment is something to build on.

Two finishers, two very different days — but both women completed a half marathon in conditions that weren't doing anyone any favors. Green's wire-to-wire consistency and late surge made her the clear story of the N20-24 age group.