Shamrock'n Half Marathon F35-39: Weeks dominates, Graffis surges late

• Jonahmaria Weeks (35, West Sacramento) won the F35-39 group in 1:26:00 (6:34/mi), climbing from 16th among women at the first checkpoint to 7th by the finish — and posting the 5th-fastest women's split on the Mile 5.13-to-finish stretch.
• Andrea Graffis (39, Folsom) ran the strongest second half in the group, recording the 12th-fastest women's split from the halfway mark to Mile 11 on her way to a 1:29:22 runner-up finish — a 3:22 gap back from Weeks.
• Rachael Banton entered the top 20 among women early, sitting 14th at Mile 2, but faded significantly through the back half to finish 4th in F35-39 (1:36:50).
• 281 women finished in F35-39, making it one of the largest age groups on the course; places 6 through 9 were separated by just 36 seconds (1:39:15 to 1:40:25).

Under clear skies and a brisk 10 mph wind in West Sacramento, Jonahmaria Weeks ran a composed, progressive race. She entered the women's field at 16th through the opening miles, then steadily climbed — 8th by Mile 5.13, and ultimately 7th among all women by the tape. Her 6:34/mi average tells the story cleanly: this was a controlled, front-loaded effort that never let up, and her blazing split on the back half of the course confirmed she had more left when others were fading.

Andrea Graffis was the group's most determined mover. Starting deep — 26th among women at the first checkpoint — she worked her way to 14th by the finish, fueled by the 12th-fastest women's split from the halfway point to Mile 11. Her 1:29:22 is a strong mark in its own right, and the 3:22 margin to Weeks is a real gap, but Graffis was clearly closing rather than opening it in the final miles.

The cautionary tale belongs to Rachael Banton (36, South Lake Tahoe). She was flying early — 14th among women through Mile 2 — but by Mile 11 she had slipped to 32nd, and she crossed in 38th. Her 15th-fastest women's split in the Mile 2-to-Mile 5.13 segment shows the early pace was real; the back half simply didn't hold. Caeli Slagle (38, Yuba City) told a similar story, fading from 22nd among women to 43rd by the finish.

Kim Japhet (37, Roseville) rounded out the podium in a steady 1:35:30, holding 34th among women from Mile 5 all the way home — no drama, no fade, just consistent execution. Behind her, the battle for places 6 through 9 was one of the tightest of the day in this group: Heather Rennie, Nicole Zanardi, Jacqueline Todak, and Ariane Scarborough finished within 36 seconds of each other, all between 1:39:15 and 1:40:25.