Women's Handcycle: Jo Ann Outten Kenton Dominates the D.C. Loop

• Jo Ann Outten Kenton won the women's handcycle race in 1:46:35 (4:04/mi), finishing 37 minutes and 27 seconds ahead of 2nd place.
• Holly Koester (Walton Hills, OH) held 2nd from start to finish, crossing in 2:24:02 (5:30/mi).
• Francisca Martínez-Ríos made the most notable move of the race, climbing from 6th to 4th with the 4th-fastest women's split on the 30K–35K segment.
• Katherine Valdez ran a roller-coaster race — dropping as far back as 8th before rallying to 5th at the line in 3:09:35, thanks in part to the 3rd-fastest women's split on the 21K–25K segment.

On a cold, damp October morning — 43°F and nearly 90% humidity as the handcycle field rolled out ahead of the main wave — Jo Ann Outten Kenton of Harrington, DE made the women's race look like a different event entirely. She led wire-to-wire, holding the top spot at every checkpoint across the 26.2-mile course through Washington D.C. and Arlington, and posted the fastest women's split on the 5K–10K segment to signal early that no one was catching her. Her finishing time of 1:46:35 at a 4:04/mi average was in a class of its own.

Holly Koester was equally unwavering in 2nd, never leaving that position from the first checkpoint to the last, finishing in 2:24:02 at 5:30/mi. Amanda Seward of Williamsburg, VA was just as consistent in 3rd — also posting the 3rd-fastest women's split on the 5K–10K segment — and crossed in 2:46:29 (6:21/mi). The top three were locked in from nearly the opening miles.

The real drama unfolded behind them. Francisca Martínez-Ríos (Stafford, VA) started 6th and gradually worked her way forward, sealing 4th place with the 4th-fastest women's split on the 30K–35K stretch, finishing in 3:07:13 (7:08/mi). Katherine Valdez had a far more turbulent journey — sliding back to 8th at one point before surging on the 21K–25K segment (3rd-fastest women's split there) to reclaim 5th in 3:09:35 (7:14/mi), just over two minutes behind Martínez-Ríos.

Michele Gallucci (3:16:11), Stephanie Borinsky (3:21:31), Lee Kuxhaus (3:30:13), Allison Burrell (3:52:59), Heidi Stark (4:41:45), and Taylor Wyss (6:39:37) rounded out all 11 finishers — every one of them completing the same iconic course that draws tens of thousands to "The People's Marathon" each year.