F65-69 at Napa Valley Marathon: Egger dominates in the cold rain

• Cindy Egger won the F65-69 field in 4:24:14 (10:05/mi) — nearly an hour ahead of second place.
• Kathy Agricola held off Rosa To for second, finishing in 5:18:50 vs. To's 5:21:11 — a gap of just 2:21.
• Rosa To posted the 479th-fastest women's split on the 13.1M→20M segment, edging ahead of fourth-place Siew Chuah in that stretch.
• Linda Frank, 69, closed out the five-woman field in 5:48:16 — running a steady 13:17/mi pace across a cold, wet 26.2 miles.

Five women toed the line in the F65-69 field at the 2024 Napa Valley Marathon, racing through 41°F temperatures and light rain on a day that demanded as much grit as fitness. Cindy Egger, 66, of Galt, CA, made the outcome look straightforward — her 4:24:14 finish at a 10:05/mi average left the rest of the field well behind, and her gender place movement tells the real story: she climbed from 239th among women at the 6.2-mile mark all the way to 221st by the halfway point, before settling back as the overall women's field compressed around her. She also posted the 205th-fastest women's split on the 6.2M→13.1M segment — a strong mid-race effort that helped cement her lead.

The battle for second and third was the race's most compelling subplot. Kathy Agricola, 68, of Levittown, NY, ran a measured 12:10/mi to finish in 5:18:50. Rosa To, 66, of Los Altos Hills, CA, was right on her heels at 5:21:11 (12:15/mi) — and actually ran the stronger 13.1M-to-20M leg, recording the 479th-fastest women's split on that segment compared to Agricola's 520th-fastest on the earlier 6.2M→13.1M stretch. To made up ground in the back half but couldn't quite close the 2:21 gap that separated them at the line.

Siew Chuah, 65, of Walnut Creek, CA, finished fourth in 5:26:05 (12:26/mi), posting the 520th-fastest women's split on the 20M-to-finish segment and holding her position steady late in the race. Linda Frank, 69, of Hudson, WI, rounded out the five-woman field in 5:48:16 — a 13:17/mi pace through a wet and chilly Napa morning that, at 69, represents no small feat of endurance.