Women's 5K: Huffman edges a razor-thin podium in the cold

• Miranda Huffman wins in 20:51 (6:43/mi), holding off a tight three-woman chase that saw 2nd through 4th separated by just 34 seconds.
• Erica Matykiewicz (21:00) and Alexa Spotts (21:02) finished 2nd and 3rd — just two seconds apart, both averaging 6:46/mi but Spotts closing the gap on Matykiewicz to finish nearly on her heels.
• Heidi Bean, 48, claimed 5th in 24:05 — the fastest finisher among women 40 and older, running 7:45/mi on a 39°F morning.
• Collins Steiner, age 10, finished 8th in 25:23 — leading a remarkable trio of Fargo youngsters (Amiya Colby, 9, in 9th at 25:37; Emma Williams, 10, in 10th at 25:41) who swept three consecutive spots in a field of 262 women.

Miranda Huffman, 37, from Bismarck, owned this race from the finish line back. Her 6:43/mi pace — a full three seconds per mile faster than anyone behind her — was enough to claim the win in 20:51 on a brisk, clear September morning. At 39°F with a stiff 86% humidity, conditions were demanding, and Huffman's margin of 9 seconds over 2nd place tells the story of a controlled, confident performance.

Behind her, the battle for the podium was genuinely gripping. Matykiewicz (21:00) and Spotts (21:02) both averaged 6:46/mi, but Spotts closed to within two seconds — a catch-up that makes those final strides worth imagining. Jessica Boekelheide, 20, from Northville, SD, ran a solid 6:54/mi to claim 4th in 21:25, leaving a 23-second gap back to 5th — meaning the real race for the podium was entirely contained within those top four.

The mid-field told its own compelling story. Heidi Bean (5th, 24:05) and Jenn Pierce (7th, 24:25, age 48) showed that the women in their late 40s were very much in the mix, sandwiching Brigit Torborg (6th, 24:23) in a tight three-way cluster. Then came the Fargo youth brigade: Collins Steiner (10, 8th), Amiya Colby (9, 9th), and Emma Williams (10, 10th) ran 25:23, 25:37, and 25:41 respectively — three kids under 11 finishing in the top ten of a 262-woman field.