F70+ Half Marathon: Novak Claims the Age Group in Sacramento's Fog

• Anne Novak won the F70+ group in 3:01:01 (13:49/mi), pulling from 40th to 34th among women across the race's final stages.
• Barbara Rinker, 79, finished 2nd in 3:17:49 — a gap of 16:48 back — after posting the 38th-fastest women's split on the Out & Back→Lap 1 segment.
• Judy Hsieh, 80, completed the half marathon in 5:14:59, making the trek from Las Vegas to finish all 13.1 miles.

Three women lined up for the F70+ half marathon in Sacramento's thick January fog — 93% humidity, temperatures hovering at 50°F, and visibility that made every mile feel a little more earned. Anne Novak, 70, handled the conditions best, crossing in 3:01:01 at a steady 13:49 per mile. She was on the move throughout: she entered the final stretch ranked 40th among women, and by the finish she'd climbed to 34th, posting the 30th-fastest women's split on that closing Lap 1→Finish segment. That's a meaningful surge when the legs are already deep into a half marathon.

Barbara Rinker made this race something to watch. At 79, she was actually gaining ground on the women's field in the early going — moving from 32nd among women after the Out & Back to 37th by Lap 1, which reflects a field spreading out around her rather than any fade on her part. She finished 2nd in the age group in 3:17:49, with her strongest relative moment coming on that Out & Back→Lap 1 stretch, where she posted the 38th-fastest women's split. The 16:48 gap to Novak was real, but Rinker's 15:06-per-mile average at 79 years old deserves its own acknowledgment.

Judy Hsieh, 80 years old and traveling from Las Vegas, brought up the rear in 5:14:59 — but she was steady throughout, holding 40th among women from Lap 1 through the finish. At 24:03 per mile, she was methodical and she finished. In a three-person field where the oldest competitor is 80, every finisher is the story.