Napa Valley Half Marathon F45-49: Raquel Rios-Reed Runs Away With It

• Raquel Rios-Reed, 1:25:05 (6:29/mi) — won F45-49 by more than 11 minutes, finishing 14th among all women.
• Closest battle of the day: Elizabeth Hepp (3rd, 1:36:52) out-split Lori Emerson (2nd, 1:36:49) on the back half — the 39th-fastest women's split on the 6.9M–Finish segment vs. the 54th-fastest — but Emerson's early cushion held by just three seconds.
• Margot Ridout vs. Shiloh Costello: 4th (1:38:06) and 5th (1:39:16) were separated by 70 seconds, with Ridout fading on the second half (72nd-fastest women's split) while Costello held steadier (63rd-fastest).
• Deep field: 165 finishers in F45-49, with the top 20 all breaking 1:54.

In a field of 165, Raquel Rios-Reed made the Napa Valley Half look like a training run — a 1:25:05 at 6:29 per mile that placed her 14th among all women on the day. The gap to second place wasn't close; it was a statement. She also posted the 15th-fastest women's split on the 6.9M-to-Finish stretch, meaning she didn't coast it in — she kept the hammer down through the back half.

Behind her, the real drama unfolded between Lori Emerson and Elizabeth Hepp. Emerson crossed in 1:36:49 for second, but Hepp — running the 39th-fastest women's closing split compared to Emerson's 54th — was reeling her in over those final miles. Hepp's surge wasn't quite enough; three seconds separated them at the line, with Emerson holding on for the runner-up spot.

Fourth and fifth told a different story. Margot Ridout of Corte Madera came through the first half with the stronger position, but her 72nd-fastest closing split among women signaled a fade, and Shiloh Costello of West Sacramento — running the 63rd-fastest closing split — kept it tighter to the end. Ridout finished in 1:38:06, Costello in 1:39:16, a 70-second gap that reflected two very different second halves.

The rest of the top 20 was a tightly packed 37-minute corridor from Wei Li's 1:44:07 in 6th through Laural Larkin's 1:53:28 in 20th — cold morning in Napa, 37°F at the gun, and 165 women who ran through it anyway.