San Francisco Half Marathon 2023: Joan Battaini Rules the F65-69 Field

• Joan Battaini took the F65-69 win in 2:13:51 (10:13/mi), finishing nearly 6 minutes clear of runner-up Laura Matsuura (2:19:52).
• Lori Nestore (2:34:56) and Karen Kamimae (2:35:09) were separated by just 13 seconds at 6th and 7th.
• Desiree Whitehall posted the 781st-fastest women's split on the 1.40M→2.13M segment, surging from outside the top 1,100 women to 881st on that stretch before settling back to 3rd in F65-69 at 2:25:46.
• Thirteen women finished the F65-69 field, spanning just over 1:06:36 from first to last.

Joan Battaini made her intentions clear early. Starting the race in a solid position among women, she posted the 394th-fastest women's split on the First Half — a genuinely strong split that helped her build a cushion no one in F65-69 could answer. By the finish, her 10:13/mi average had delivered a 2:13:51 that stood nearly six minutes ahead of the field, a commanding margin in any company, let alone among 65-to-69-year-olds on San Francisco's notoriously hilly streets.

Laura Matsuura (2:19:52) claimed second with a steady, progressive race — her women's gender ranking climbed continuously from 1,483rd at the first checkpoint all the way to 1,229th at the finish, and she capped it with the 968th-fastest women's split on the 10.65M→Finish segment, meaning she was still gaining ground on the broader women's field in the closing miles. Desiree Whitehall (2:25:46, 3rd) took a different approach: she surged hard early, posting the 781st-fastest women's split on the 1.40M→2.13M stretch and climbing sharply through the women's field before eventually settling at 3rd. Linda Siino rounded out the podium just behind at 2:27:27.

The battle for 6th and 7th was the tightest of the day. Lori Nestore (2:34:56) and Karen Kamimae (2:35:09) ran the entire race within shouting distance of each other, with just 13 seconds deciding their places at the line. Further back, Pamela Coleman (2:49:29) and Mia Wilson (2:49:01) were similarly inseparable — Wilson edging ahead by 28 seconds for 8th. Susan Wellborn (3:17:13) and Joan Columbini (3:20:27) closed out the 13-finisher field, separated by just over three minutes, both completing a demanding San Francisco course on a cool, humid July morning.