Half Marathon NB35-39: Gonzalez dominates from the front

• Justine Gonzalez won the NB35-39 field in 1:47:44 (8:13/mi), climbing from 5th among women at the first checkpoint all the way to 1st — where she stayed.
• Gonzalez posted the fastest women's split on the 1.2M–4.9M segment, the surge that defined the race.
• Ayana Nir finished 2nd in NB35-39 in 2:27:15 (11:14/mi), closing with the 8th-fastest women's split on the 11.9M–Finish segment.
• The two-finisher field saw a 39:31 gap separate first from second.

Justine Gonzalez didn't just win the NB35-39 race — she made a statement doing it. Starting the day 5th among women, she was already climbing by the first checkpoint at 1.2 miles, and by 4.9 miles she had posted the fastest women's split of anyone in the field on that stretch. From that point forward, she held the top spot among women all the way to the finish line, crossing in 1:47:44 at an 8:13/mi clip. That's a front-running performance executed with precision.

Ayana Nir, also 36 and racing out of Oakland, had a steadier, more measured day. She held 9th among women through the middle miles and carried that position home, finishing 2nd in NB35-39 in 2:27:15. Her 11:14/mi average tells a different story than Gonzalez's, but Nir saved something for the end — her 8th-fastest women's split on the final 11.9M-to-Finish stretch shows she was moving well when it counted most, closing out San Francisco's notoriously demanding course with purpose.