Napa Valley Half Marathon F70-74: Nakagaki Takes the Win in a Four-Woman Showdown

• Marie Nakagaki, 71, wins in 2:20:32 (10:43/mi), more than 13 minutes clear of the field.
• Pamela Roberts, 70, claims 2nd in 2:33:43 (11:44/mi), finishing a solid runner-up out of Lenox, MA.
• Nancy Maclachlan, 73, takes 3rd in 3:44:28 — the eldest of the four finishers, she crossed in 17:07/mi.
• Emily Savinar-Nogue, 70, rounds out the group in 4th with a 4:26:58 finish on her home course in Napa.

Four women toed the line in the F70-74 field on a cool, breezy March morning in Napa — 47°F with a 12 mph wind — and Marie Nakagaki of Orinda made her presence felt from the start. Running a steady 10:43/mi, she crossed in 2:20:32 to claim the win by 13 minutes and 11 seconds over the next finisher. Her middle segment (3.1M to 6.9M) ranked 793rd among all women in the race — a genuinely strong split for this cohort that helped her build and hold her lead throughout.

Pamela Roberts, 70, making the trip from Lenox, MA, was the closest challenger, finishing 2nd in 2:33:43 at 11:44/mi. Her pace was meaningfully slower than Nakagaki's across the board — the gap was never really in question — but Roberts ran a composed, consistent race to secure the runner-up spot. Her mid-race split ranked 1,031st among the women, reflecting a steady if measured effort through the hills and wind.

Nancy Maclachlan, 73, of Oroville earned 3rd place in 3:44:28, and at the oldest age in the field, her finish deserves its own acknowledgment. Running 17:07/mi, she completed the half marathon in conditions that tested everyone. Emily Savinar-Nogue, 70, brought it home in 4th for the hometown crowd in Napa, crossing in 4:26:58 at 20:22/mi — a full two hours and six seconds behind the winner, but a finisher nonetheless in a field where every one of these four women earned their medal.