F60-64 Half Marathon: Cheryl Taylor Dominates in Folsom

• Cheryl Taylor won the F60-64 age group in 1:45:19 (8:02/mi), finishing nearly 40 minutes clear of the field.
• Taylor climbed from 9th to 8th among women by Mile 4 and held that position to the line, posting the 7th-fastest second-half split in the women's field.
• Anthea Damore was the strongest closer in the age group behind the winner, moving from 78th to 65th among women across the second half — the most places gained of anyone in F60-64.
• Jaimina Schulz and Barbara Hecker ran mirror-image races in opposite directions: Schulz slipped from 65th to 72nd among women, while Hecker faded more sharply, dropping from 41st all the way to 95th.

Seven women lined up for the F60-64 half marathon in Folsom on a warm November morning — 74°F with light wind — and Cheryl Taylor of Sacramento made it look like a different race entirely. Her 1:45:19 finish at 8:02 per mile put her nearly 40 minutes ahead of second-place Andrea Ajayi, and her second-half strength was real: the 7th-fastest second-half split in the entire women's field is a genuine mark of someone who ran through the heat rather than wilting in it.

Ajayi (2:25:27) and Damore (2:34:34) settled into 2nd and 3rd with a nine-minute gap between them, while Damore's late surge through the women's field — climbing from 78th to 65th among women on the back half — was the most impressive move in the age group behind Taylor. Schulz (2:38:23) rounded out the top four, just under four minutes behind Damore.

The back half of the race told a harder story for Barbara Hecker. She was actually running near the front of the women's field through the early miles — 41st among women at Mile 4 — but the warm conditions took their toll, and she faded to 95th by the finish, crossing in 2:53:18. Patti Ryland (3:10:48) and Rose Cardoso (3:46:13) brought the full seven-woman field home, with Cardoso finishing at a measured 17:15 per mile.