SF Marathon 10K — F35-39: Tondow Smith dominates while a four-way battle decides the podium

• Stephanie Tondow Smith won the F35-39 race in 41:42 (6:43/mi), finishing 7th among all women and posting the 11th-fastest women's split on the final 4.62M-to-Finish stretch.
• Three seconds separated 3rd through 5th place: Arianna Alexander (45:49), Leana Lai (46:00), and Alyssa Whitwell (46:02).
• The gap from 1st to 2nd was nearly four minutes — Penelope Ferraro crossed in 45:39, making Tondow Smith's win a wire-to-wire runaway in a field of 305.
• Places 2 through 5 were decided by a combined 23 seconds, with Ferraro edging the chase pack by a comfortable 10 seconds at 45:39.

Stephanie Tondow Smith, 35, from Berkeley, ran a race in a different class from the rest of the F35-39 field. Her 6:43/mi pace held firm across the course, and she backed it up with the 11th-fastest women's closing split on the final 4.62 miles — meaning she wasn't just building a lead early, she was still moving through the field late. Her 7th-place finish among all women underscores just how complete the performance was in a 305-runner field.

Behind her, the race for 2nd through 5th was a genuine thriller. Penelope Ferraro of San Francisco held 2nd at 45:39, but Arianna Alexander (Los Angeles, 45:49) and Leana Lai (San Francisco, 46:00) were right on her heels. Notably, Alexander ran the 26th-fastest women's closing split while Ferraro ran the 29th-fastest and Lai the 30th-fastest — meaning Alexander was the one gaining ground late, trimming the gap to just 10 seconds at the line. Alyssa Whitwell (El Cerrito, 46:02) ran the 35th-fastest closing split, suggesting she faded slightly in the final miles relative to the others, but still finished only 13 seconds off 2nd place.

Mariela Biscardi Salvador rounded out the top six in 47:56, nearly two minutes clear of 7th-place Jen Wang (49:36), who in turn finished just 18 seconds ahead of Meredith Alcala (49:54). The rest of the top 20 spread from Amanda Sanders at 50:30 through Elena Hawk at 55:48, with the field's depth on full display across the Bay Area and beyond.