Two Cities Marathon F45-49: Sanchez Defends with a Sub-2:52 Demolition

• Ramona Sanchez wins in 2:51:43 (6:33/mi) — a 1:03 improvement over her 2nd-place 2:53:26 here in 2023, and a commanding 51:50 gap over 2nd place.
• Sanchez posted the 2nd-fastest women's split on the 1M→10K segment, surging to 2nd among all women in the opening miles and holding that position for nearly the entire race.
• Rosalie Smith closed hard, running the 16th-fastest women's split on the 25.2M→Finish stretch to secure 2nd in the F45-49 group at 3:43:33.
• Jonah Belle (3:57:57) and Emily Perez (4:06:13) rounded out the top four, with Belle's strong 23M→25.2M split (25th-fastest among women) helping her hold off Perez by 8:16.

Ramona Sanchez didn't just return to Two Cities — she came back to finish the job. After crossing in 2:53:26 and landing 2nd among all women here in 2023, the 47-year-old from Sparks, NV, ran 1:43 faster this year to win the F45-49 group outright in 2:51:43. She was running at 6:33/mi on one of the Central Valley's flattest, most Boston-qualifier-friendly courses, and she made the most of it: her 2nd-fastest women's split on the 1M→10K segment put her near the front of the entire women's field early, and she never relinquished control of her age group.

Behind her, Rosalie Smith (46, Bradley, CA) ran a patient, progressive race. She entered the women's field 41st at the first checkpoint and steadily climbed, finishing 23rd among women at 3:43:33 — that late surge powered by the 16th-fastest women's split on the final 25.2M→Finish stretch. Jonah Belle (49, Porterville) also showed late-race strength, clocking the 25th-fastest women's split on the 23M–25.2M segment to finish 3rd in 3:57:57. Emily Perez (46, National City) was 4th in 4:06:13, holding steady through the back half.

Angelica Lucas (49, Fresno) is the race's most dramatic cautionary tale: she ran the 26th-fastest women's split on the opening 1M→10K — sitting 27th among women at that checkpoint — but faded to 60th among women by the finish, crossing 5th in the F45-49 group at 4:24:12. The remaining eight finishers, from Vanessa McBride's 4:34:24 through the anonymous 13th finisher's 6:26:26, completed a full and competitive field on a warm Central Valley October morning.