F75-79 at Napa: Baumgardner leads a fearless four across the finish

• Kazuko Baumgardner won the F75-79 race in 2:36:22 (11:56/mi), finishing more than 10 minutes clear of the field.
• Sandi Ree took 2nd in 2:46:33 (12:42/mi), with Karen Ostlund 3rd in 2:53:23 (13:14/mi) — just under 7 minutes separating them.
• Ae Ok Kim completed the four-woman field in 3:25:44 (15:42/mi), the only finisher to break the 3:30 barrier from the back.
• All four athletes were gaining places among women in the second half — every one of them ran the 6.9M-to-Finish segment with enough momentum to move up the women's field.

In 37°F cold and thick morning humidity, four women in their mid-to-late 70s lined up and ran a half marathon in Napa — and that alone is worth the headline. Kazuko Baumgardner, 76, from Los Angeles, made it look controlled from the start. Her 11:56/mi average produced a 2:36:22 that no one in the F75-79 field could touch, and she closed the day by moving up 13 places among women on the back half, posting the 878th-fastest women's split on the 6.9M-to-Finish stretch.

Behind her, Sandi Ree of San Antonio ran a composed 2:46:33 at 12:42/mi to claim 2nd. Ree's closing half was her strongest relative move of the day — she gained 24 places among women from 6.9M to the finish, posting the 934th-fastest women's split on that segment. That's a notably sharper closing pace than Baumgardner's, but Baumgardner had built too wide a lead through the early miles for Ree to bridge the 10-minute gap.

Karen Ostlund, 79, of Austin, finished 3rd in 2:53:23 — a 13:14/mi effort that held steady enough to keep 3rd place secure. The gap between 2nd and 3rd was under seven minutes, and Ostlund's closing split moved her up one place among women overall. Rounding out the field, Ae Ok Kim of Los Angeles crossed in 3:25:44 at 15:42/mi, also gaining 18 places among women in the final stretch. Four starters, four finishers — clean and complete in the cold Napa morning.