San Francisco Marathon F20-29: Abdalati Holds On for the Win

• Olivia Abdalati took the F20-29 title in 3:08:11 (7:11/mi), the fastest finish in the field of 158.
• Catarina Zheng ran the 6th-fastest women's split from 24 Miles to the Finish, closing hard to land 2nd in 3:09:34 — just 1:23 back.
• Julia Minkstein and Jaelynn Cid, both 20 years old, went toe-to-toe for 3rd and 4th, finishing in 3:24:50 and 3:25:32 respectively — separated by only 42 seconds.
• Kiera Fulton climbed from 41st among women at the start to 29th by the finish, posting the 21st-fastest women's split from 18 Miles to 24 Miles on her way to 5th in 3:27:37.

Olivia Abdalati ran near the front of the women's field from the gun, sitting 2nd among women through the early miles. She held that position deep into the race — until a tough stretch around the Garmin Hill Challenge segment, where her 159th-fastest women's split from 14.95 Miles to 18 Miles signaled a rough patch, and she slipped back to 8th among women. That she still crossed in 3:08:11 at 7:11/mi tells you how much time she had banked. The title was hers.

Catarina Zheng's story is one of relentless, patient climbing. She was 19th among women early on, methodically working her way forward — 13th, 11th, 10th — and then uncorked the 6th-fastest women's split from 24 Miles to the Finish to seal 2nd place in 3:09:34. She ran the closing miles faster than Abdalati, but the gap was simply too large to fully erase. It's the classic catch-up: Zheng ran the late miles harder, yet Abdalati's early lead was the difference.

Just behind, the battle for 3rd was a quiet duel between two 20-year-olds. Julia Minkstein of El Granada had posted the 13th-fastest women's split on the Garmin Hill Challenge-to-14.95-Miles segment and worked her way up from 42nd among women to a peak of 16th before settling into 3rd in 3:24:50. Jaelynn Cid of Castro Valley was never far away, weaving through the field with a 16th-fastest women's closing split, finishing 4th in 3:25:32. Forty-two seconds separated them at the line.

The depth of this F20-29 field is worth noting: six finishers broke 3:30, and the top 20 were all in under 3:49. Samantha Monello (6th, 3:36:05), Nina Bernick (7th, 3:36:14), and Claire Buckholz (8th, 3:37:01) were separated by less than a minute in a tight cluster just behind the top five, rounding out a competitive morning across all 158 finishers.