Women's 5K: Shideler Dominates in Napa

• Kristina Shideler won the women's race in 18:07 (5:50/mi) — nearly 2:29 clear of 2nd place in a 437-woman field.
• M. Ivory, age 12, of Lafayette, CA claimed 3rd in 20:51 — the youngest podium finisher in the women's race.
• H. Blair and Addy Travis both clocked 22:45 (7:19/mi) for 6th and 7th — separated only by the finest of margins at the line.
• Six of the top 20 women hailed from Lafayette, CA — many of them notably young, including three finishers aged 11–12.

There was no drama at the front. Kristina Shideler, 38, from Santa Rosa, crossed in 18:07 at a 5:50/mi clip and left the rest of the women's field well behind. Neely Gracey, 34, of Erie, CO was the runner-up in 20:36 — a solid 6:38/mi — but the gap to Shideler was a commanding 2 minutes and 29 seconds. Allison Franklin, 34, of San Francisco rounded out the chase pack in 4th at 20:59 (6:45/mi), just 15 seconds behind 3rd.

The real story behind the podium was the youth on display. M. Ivory, just 12 years old and from Lafayette, CA, ran 20:51 at 6:43/mi to claim 3rd among all women — a remarkable result in a field of 437. Further back, fellow 12-year-old H. Blair (22:45, 6th) and 14-year-old Addy Travis (22:45, 7th) finished in the same clock time, with timing to the fraction settling the order between them. Lafayette clearly showed up: six of the top 20 finishers called it home.

Annamarie Eustice, 24, of Advance, NC was 5th in 21:55 (7:03/mi), the last woman under 22 minutes. From there the field spread out through the 23s and 24s, with Megan Feskens (9th, 23:36), Jessica Vargas (10th, 23:43), and a hard-charging Kristen Lateiner — 47 years old — posting 23:59 for 11th. Tess Nogles and Mallory Homewood nearly mirrored each other at 15th (25:04) and 16th (25:05), separated by a single second after 3.1 miles on a cool, breezy Napa morning.