F20-24 at the Kaua'i Marathon: Harding Holds On Through the Heat

• Maiya Florence Harding won the F20-24 age group in 4:31:30 (10:21/mi), finishing more than 12 minutes clear of runner-up Isabel Valaika.
• Isabel Valaika was the group's strongest finisher in the final miles, posting the 29th-fastest women's split on the 22.25–24.15 Mile stretch as she moved from 60th to 34th among women across the race.
• Easha Nandyala and Leila Mackenzie separated by just 6 seconds at the finish (4:48:37 vs. 4:48:43) to claim 3rd and 4th in the age group.
• The field spread 1:45:50 from first to last across 10 finishers, reflecting the challenge of 77°F humidity-soaked conditions in Poipu.

Maiya Florence Harding of Honolulu came into the F20-24 race running strong, and she made her mark early. She was moving at a 10:21/mi average and put up the 17th-fastest women's split on the 6.55 Miles-to-Half stretch in the entire women's field — a sign she was genuinely racing, not just managing. She held a top-25 position among women through the midpoint, and while the back half saw her slip a few spots in the broader women's race (finishing 27th among women), she never surrendered the age-group lead. The win was hers from the front.

Isabel Valaika ran the opposite race. The 20-year-old from Long Beach started conservatively — 60th among women at the first checkpoint — and spent the entire afternoon climbing. By the finish she had moved all the way to 34th among women, and her 22.25-to-24.15 Mile split ranked 29th in the women's field. She crossed in 4:43:30 to take 2nd in the age group, a strong finish that came from relentless forward momentum rather than an early surge.

The battle for 3rd was the closest of the day. Easha Nandyala (Berkeley, CA) and Leila Mackenzie (Los Angeles, CA) — both 20 and 24 years old respectively — raced each other to a near-standstill. Nandyala's 4:48:37 edged Mackenzie's 4:48:43 by just six seconds after 26.2 miles in humid, warm conditions. Both had posted competitive women's-field splits on the 6.55-to-Half segment (37th and 39th fastest, respectively), but neither could shake the other over the long haul.

Behind them, Keana Kuzma — a local from Koloa — rounded out the top five in 5:06:24, and Dalila Marcos of Kailua added another Hawaii presence in 6th. The back half of the field stretched out considerably, with Salena Salameh completing the 10-woman group in 6:17:20, a reminder that on a warm, humid morning in Kaua'i, simply finishing a marathon at any pace is a genuine accomplishment.