Jed Smith Half Marathon: Candace Furlong Owns the F70+ Field

• Sole finisher and champion: Candace Furlong, 74, Sacramento, CA — 2:32:06 at an 11:37/mi average.
• Strong finish: She posted the 14th-fastest women's split from Lap 1 to the finish, a standout showing in cold, wet conditions.
• Steady climber: Furlong moved from 22nd to 18th to 17th among all women over the course of the race, gaining five places on the field.

Candace Furlong stepped to the line in Sacramento on a raw February morning — 51°F, steady rain, 14 mph wind, 91% humidity — and simply got it done. As the only finisher in the F70+ age group, she claimed the top spot by default, but the numbers tell a more interesting story than that.

Running 11:37 per mile across 13.1 miles, Furlong finished in 2:32:06 and actually raced the back half with purpose. Her split from Lap 1 to the finish ranked 14th-fastest among all women in the field — a genuine performance metric, not just a participation stamp. In conditions that pushed plenty of runners to the back of the pack, she was moving through it.

That movement showed up in her place among the women, too. She entered the first checkpoint 22nd among women, climbed to 18th by the next marker, and finished 17th. Five places gained across the race, in the rain, at 74 years old. That's the story of the F70+ race at Jed Smith 2025.