F70+ Half Marathon: Roney rules Santa Rosa's toughest age group

• Laura Roney, 72, wins in 2:56:57 (13:30/mi), the only F70+ finisher to break three hours.
• Kathi Glasshagel, 78, takes 4th in 3:13:57 — the field's oldest podium-range finisher, running 14:48/mi through the mist.
• Marcia Morrison and Karen Ostlund finish 6th and 7th within two seconds of each other — 3:30:45 and 3:30:47 — after running the back half at notably different paces.
• Eight women aged 70–82 finished a half marathon in cool, humid conditions at Santa Rosa.

Laura Roney, a 72-year-old local from Santa Rosa, made her home course count. Her 2:56:57 — a 13:30/mi clip — was the only sub-three-hour effort in the F70+ field, and she backed it up with a strong second half, climbing from 954th to 917th among all women on the 7M→Finish segment with the 878th-fastest women's split on that stretch. Nobody in the field came close to matching her pace wire to wire.

Behind Roney, Cynthia Antang Plotkin (2nd, 3:05:22) and Michele DeWitt (3rd, 3:06:28) were separated by just 66 seconds. Plotkin ran the second half more aggressively, gaining 19 spots among women on the 7M→Finish leg to post the 923rd-fastest women's split on that segment. DeWitt, meanwhile, held her position almost exactly — her gender ranking barely moved — suggesting a steadier, more even effort that still wasn't quite enough to close the gap.

Kathi Glasshagel deserves a special mention: at 78, she was the oldest finisher in the top half of the F70+ field, running 3:13:57 at 14:48/mi for 4th place, and she actually gained ground in the second half, moving from 1004th to 980th among women. Natalie Conrad rounded out the top five in 3:23:38.

The race's most dramatic near-miss came at the back of the field, where Marcia Morrison (77) and Karen Ostlund (82) arrived within two seconds of each other — 3:30:45 and 3:30:47 — after Ostlund, the field's oldest finisher at 82, made up ground in the final stretch. Lea Casita completed all 13.1 miles in 4:33:24 to close out the eight-woman field.