F65-69: Julie Arnold Edges Out Sunjune Lee in a 14-Second Thriller

• Julie Arnold wins F65-69 in 4:13:37 (9:40/mi), holding off Sunjune Lee by just 14 seconds at the line.
• Sunjune Lee finishes 2nd in 4:13:51 (9:41/mi), having closed the gap with a stronger final stretch — her 20M→Finish split ranked 237th among women vs. Arnold's 229th.
• Janet Jokisch (Delta, BC) claims 3rd in 4:15:38, posting the 263rd-fastest women's split on the 6.2M→13.1M middle segment.
• Amy Zimpfer runs the strongest final push of any F65-69 finisher, posting the 205th-fastest women's split on 20M→Finish on her way to 4th in 4:28:27.

Nine women contested the F65-69 field along the Silverado Trail from Calistoga to Napa, and the top of the leaderboard came down to a genuine race within a race. Julie Arnold, 65, of Granite Bay, CA, crossed in 4:13:37 at a 9:40/mi clip to claim the win — but she had to earn it. Sunjune Lee, also 65 and making the trip from Johns Creek, GA, was right on her heels the entire way, finishing in 4:13:51. The gap was a mere 14 seconds across 26.2 miles.

The final miles told the most interesting tactical story. Both Arnold and Lee made meaningful moves through the women's field in the closing 20M→Finish stretch — Arnold's split ranked 229th among women and Lee's 237th — meaning Arnold ran that segment slightly faster and held the margin she needed. Lee was the one making up ground, but not quite enough. What separated them at the tape was not a dramatic surge but a razor-thin advantage Arnold maintained all the way to Napa.

Janet Jokisch, 65, of Delta, BC, rounded out the podium in 4:15:38 (9:45/mi), her best segment coming in the 6.2M–13.1M middle stretch where she posted the 263rd-fastest women's split. Amy Zimpfer, 66, of Mill Valley, finished 4th in 4:28:27 and actually had the strongest closing leg of anyone in the F65-69 field — her 205th-fastest women's split on 20M→Finish was the sharpest late-race effort in the group, even if she couldn't catch the leaders.

Cindy Egger (4:36:49), Siew Chuah (4:41:12), Kathryn Kelly (4:58:23), Catherine Ivy (5:25:47), and Mary Lynn Askin (5:39:14) completed all nine finishers — Askin, 69, the eldest in the field, bringing it home in 12:56/mi to close out the F65-69 story on the Napa Valley Marathon course.