Women's Marathon: Zimmermann Defends, Frketich Flies Late

• Leandra Zimmermann wins in 2:45:14 at 6:18/mi — defending her 2023 title and leading the women's race wire-to-wire.
• Amanda Frketich, 19, runs the fastest women's closing split (24M→Finish) to lock up 2nd in 2:52:29 — a 7:15 gap to the winner.
• Jacqueline Teran and Camille Moore finish 3rd and 4th in 2:58:11 and 2:58:45 — separated by just 34 seconds after 26.2 miles.
• Thia Angelo returns to the top 10 in 3:08:51, three years after finishing 4th here in 2024 (2:59:23).

Leandra Zimmermann came in as the women's 2023 champion, and she made sure 2026 looked a lot like that day. The 29-year-old San Franciscan went to the front immediately and never left it — her gender place reads 1→1→1→1→1→1 from gun to tape. She also posted the fastest women's split on the 2M→4M segment, a statement of intent early in the race. Her 2:45:14 at 6:18/mi was the standard everyone else spent the morning chasing.

The most electric story behind her was 19-year-old Amanda Frketich from Burnaby, BC. Frketich ran conservatively early — sitting 3rd through the halfway point — but she was building toward something. She clocked the fastest women's split from 24M to the finish, running down Jacqueline Teran in the process to claim 2nd. Teran, who had held 2nd for most of the race, faded to 3rd in the closing miles, finishing in 2:58:11 at 6:48/mi. The gap between Frketich's 2:52:29 and Teran's 2:58:11 is nearly six minutes — a significant catch-up powered by that blazing closing segment.

Fourth place went to Camille Moore (2:58:45, 6:49/mi), who ran one of the most consistent races in the field — 4th at every single checkpoint — and recorded the 2nd-fastest women's split on the 14M→16M segment. Chihiro Miya (2:59:29, 6:51/mi) moved from 7th early to 5th by mile four and held that position all the way home, contributing the 3rd-fastest women's split on the 18M→20M stretch. The sub-3:00 quartet of Frketich, Teran, Moore, and Miya made for a fiercely competitive chase pack.

Further back, Mackinly Kifer (3:07:26) brought a compelling weekend double — she had already run 2nd among women in the Saturday 5K before lining up for 26.2 miles, finishing 9th. Thia Angelo (3:08:51) deserves mention too: she was 4th here in 2024 with a 2:59:23, and while she finished 10th this time around, she made the top ten in a women's field of 2,086.