F60-69 Marathon: Bergenske Dominates, Second Half Tells the Real Story

• Lanore Bergenske, 67, wins in 3:48:21 (8:43/mi), more than six minutes clear of runner-up Akemi Iizuka's 3:54:31.
• Bergenske posted the 103rd-fastest women's second-half split in the field — the strongest of any F60-69 finisher on the back half.
• Bridgette Holzapple made the biggest second-half move in the group, climbing from 176th to 145th among women (13.1M→Finish), edging ahead of Tracy Donovan (4:05:32) to claim 3rd in 3:57:50.
• 19 women finished across the F60-69 field, with the back of the pack ranging from Doreen Morales (4:49:06) through Cathy Giffel's 6:22:04 — a 2:33 spread across the entire field.

Lanore Bergenske of Fortuna made her intentions clear from the start and never let up. Running at 8:43/mi, the 67-year-old climbed from 137th to 117th among women over the second half — and her 103rd-fastest women's split on the 13.1M-to-finish stretch was the sharpest of anyone in the F60-69 field. On a flat, fast course through Sonoma County wine country, Bergenske ran the kind of race this course was built for.

Behind her, Akemi Iizuka (60, San Francisco) held second in 3:54:31, moving from 152nd to 137th among women on the back half. But the real chase for the podium was between Iizuka and Bridgette Holzapple — and Holzapple was the one closing. Holzapple's 124th-fastest women's second-half split was faster than Iizuka's 129th, and she made up enough ground to finish 3rd in 3:57:50, just 3:19 behind Iizuka. Tracy Donovan of Santa Rosa — racing in her own backyard — came home 4th in 4:05:32.

Patrice Horan (63, Fairfield) told a different story in 5th: she was sitting 174th among women at the halfway mark but faded to 181st by the finish, the only top-five finisher to lose ground in the women's field over the second half, crossing in 4:11:00. Noriko Bazeley (4:17:30) and Windsor's Allison Baker (4:18:11) rounded out a tight 6th-and-7th pairing, just 41 seconds apart. At the back, Tina Ammermann (6:19:33) and Cathy Giffel (6:22:04) — both making the trip from Illinois — finished 18th and 19th, completing the full 26.2 miles in just over 14:30/mi pace.