SF Half Marathon F20-29: Lucy Jenks Wins a Lead-Swapping Battle at 5:49 Pace

• Lucy Jenks, 24, takes the title in 1:16:13 (5:49/mi), posting the fastest women's split on the 2M→4M segment and surging back to the front after briefly sitting as low as 3rd among women.
• Sophia Carcamo, 20, runs the fastest women's first-half split and leads at the midpoint, ultimately finishing 2nd in 1:19:47 — 3:34 behind Jenks.
• Laura Zimmer and Juliana Chen charge through the back half, climbing from 29th and 36th among women respectively to finish 3rd (1:28:39) and 4th (1:29:44) in F20-29.
• Caroline Phipps and Caroline Baur both clock 1:45:14 to share 19th and 20th — separated only by the timing chip.

The F20-29 race at the 2026 San Francisco Half Marathon was anything but settled. Lucy Jenks opened at the front, held the top women's spot through the early miles, then slipped to 3rd before reclaiming 2nd — and finally the lead — by the finish. Her 5:49/mi average across 13.1 miles in 59°F and a stiff 17 mph Bay wind is the headline number of the morning, and her fastest-in-the-women's-field split on the 2M→4M stretch was the decisive surge that put daylight between her and the rest.

Sophia Carcamo, just 20 years old out of Clayton, ran the most aggressive first half of anyone in the women's field — her split there was the fastest among all women — and it briefly paid off: she hit the midpoint in 1st place among women. But Jenks had more in reserve. Carcamo held on for a strong 2nd in 1:19:47, a result that signals real upside for the youngest athlete on the podium.

Behind the top two, the story was all about late movers. Laura Zimmer, 24, of San Francisco started 29th among women and steadily worked her way forward, posting the 6th-fastest women's split on the 6M→8M stretch and landing 3rd in F20-29 at 1:28:39. Juliana Chen, 23, made an even deeper charge — 36th among women at the gun's first checkpoint, 18th by the finish, and 4th in the group at 1:29:44, bolstered by the 10th-fastest women's split on the 8M→10M leg. Emily Field, 5th in 1:31:11, was the one notable fader in the top five, drifting from 19th among women to 26th before the line. Wing Yu Lau (1:33:54) and Alexandra Midler (1:34:04) rounded out a tight 6th and 7th, separated by just ten seconds across 13.1 miles.