Masters Women: Missy Rock Runs Down the Field for a 2:43:32 Win

• Missy Rock won the Masters Women race in 2:43:32 (6:14/mi), finishing 5th among all women on a warm, windy October day.
• Courtney Dauwalter ran the 6th-fastest women's split from 20K–25K, climbing from 14th to eventually 7th among women on her way to 2nd in Masters Women at 2:49:51 — a 6:29/mi effort across 26.2 miles.
• Jenny Goswami closed with the 8th-fastest women's split from 40K to the finish, securing 3rd in Masters Women at 2:55:16 (6:41/mi).
• Lori Russell ran the 13th-fastest women's split from 5K–10K but faded from 12th among women at that early mark all the way to 50th by the finish, settling for 5th in Masters Women at 3:15:26.

Missy Rock from Prior Lake, MN, owned this race from the gun. She slipped briefly to 8th among women by 10K but was back to 6th by 20K and locked in at 5th for the entire second half — a composed, controlled performance that held its ground against a tough field on a 69°F, 17 mph wind day. Her 4th-fastest women's split from 25K–30K signals exactly where she pressed the advantage, and her 6:14/mi average held firm all the way to Saint Paul.

Courtney Dauwalter — the Leadville, CO ultrarunner — made her presence felt with a strong middle stretch, posting the 6th-fastest women's split between 20K and 25K and steadily working her way from 14th among women at the start to 7th by the finish. Her 2:49:51 (6:29/mi) was a clear 6:19 behind Rock, but a worthy runner-up showing. Jenny Goswami of Weston, MA rounded out the podium in 2:55:16, her late kick — the 8th-fastest women's split in the field from 40K to the line — enough to hold 3rd comfortably.

The cautionary tale of the day belonged to Lori Russell of Rochester, MN. She blazed through the opening 5K–10K segment with the 13th-fastest women's split and sat 12th among women — then gradually unraveled, slipping to 19th by halfway, 34th by 40K, and ultimately 50th among women at the finish in 3:15:26 (7:27/mi). Behind her, Saint Paul's own Jessica Stopera (3:17:06) and Heather McCleery of Mahtomedi (3:17:20) finished 6th and 7th in a tight cluster, just 14 seconds apart across 26.2 miles.