Two Cities Marathon 10K — F65-69: Clemings Leads a Strong Fresno Showing

• Betsy Clemings won the F65-69 age group in 1:07:20 (10:50/mi), gaining 36 places among women on the back half of the course.
• Evelyn Sue Sharwood claimed 2nd in 1:13:38, also finishing strong with a 42-place climb among women after the 1-mile mark.
• Frances Carmona rounded out the podium in 1:24:04, surging 74 places among women in the closing stretch — the biggest positional gain in the group.
• All five finishers improved their standing among women from the 1-mile mark to the finish, making F65-69 one of the stronger closing groups on the day.

Betsy Clemings, 67, of Clovis, set the standard in the F65-69 age group, crossing in 1:07:20 at a steady 10:50 per mile — a clip that held up well in the 74°F Fresno heat. She entered the final stretch ranked 208th among women and finished 172nd, picking off 36 competitors in the back half alone. Her 168th-fastest women's split from the 1-mile mark to the finish underscored that she ran her best racing when it counted most.

Evelyn Sue Sharwood, 68, was a composed second in 1:13:38 (11:51/mi), gaining 42 places among women after the mile mark to finish 251st in the women's field. Frances Carmona, also 67 and a Fresno local, took 3rd in 1:24:04 and was arguably the group's most dramatic closer — she moved from 409th to 335th among women in the second half, a swing of 74 positions.

The back of the age group told a different story. Bertha Soto, 66, finished 4th in 1:35:18 but faded slightly, slipping from 373rd to 401st among women after the mile. Cheryl Carlson, 65, rounded out the five in 1:43:29, also drifting back in the women's field late. Still, all five women in their mid-to-late 60s completed a 10K on a warm November morning in Fresno — and Clemings did it faster than most people half her age would dare to dream.