Masters Women at Rio Del Lago 50K: Pearl Delivers a Statement Comeback

• Allison Pearl wins in 6:11:49 — nearly 23 minutes faster than her 10th-place finish here in 2025 (6:34:57), a stunning year-over-year leap to the top step.
• Kristi Carlson runs 6:14:05 for 2nd — the closest challenger, just 2:16 back, posting the 5th-fastest women's split on the Beals Point 2→Granite Beach 1 leg.
• Angie Pozzi, age 67, finishes 4th in 6:22:58 — entering the women's field in 49th place at the first checkpoint before surging to 9th by the third leg.
• Shannon Brown completes the podium in 6:22:00 — climbing from 22nd among women at the first checkpoint all the way to 10th by the finish.

Allison Pearl came back to Rio Del Lago with unfinished business. A year ago she crossed this same finish line 10th among the women in 6:34:57. On Saturday, under clear skies and a cool 54°F morning, she ran 6:11:49 — nearly 23 minutes faster — and won the Masters Women field outright. She held 7th among all women at the first checkpoint and never slipped, locking into 6th and holding it through the final leg. Her 6th-fastest women's split on the Beals Point 1→Willow Creek segment was a key moment in cementing that position early.

Kristi Carlson made the race interesting from the back. She was 21st among women through the opening leg, but a 5th-fastest women's split on Beals Point 2→Granite Beach 1 rocketed her up the leaderboard and she ultimately finished 2nd in 6:14:05 — just 2:16 behind Pearl. Notably, that 6:14:05 is actually slower than Carlson's own 6:12:15 from this race in 2025, when she finished 9th among all women. She ran a sharper race last year by the clock, but the competition in the Masters field this time was fierce enough that it still earned her the silver.

Shannon Brown and Angie Pozzi made the podium in dramatically different ways. Brown was buried — 22nd among women early, then 25th — before a strong mid-race push brought her all the way to 10th among women at the finish and 3rd in the Masters field in 6:22:00. Pozzi's story was even more striking: she started 49th among women but cracked the top ten by the third checkpoint and finished 4th in 6:22:58, just 58 seconds behind Brown. At 67, Pozzi's surge through the field was one of the afternoon's most eye-catching performances.

Marian Fuego (5th, 6:28:58) and Julie Clemens (6th, 6:29:18) were separated by just 20 seconds after 50 kilometers of racing, with Fuego holding the edge. Behind them, the field spread across more than two hours of finishing times, with Holly Edes (10th, 6:52:29) and Tamara Sutton (11th, 6:53:15) running nearly stride for stride late in the race. All 25 Masters Women finishers earned their result on a course that doesn't forgive a slow start — or reward one.