Two Cities Marathon F60-64: Carnahan Commands the Age Group

• Karen Carnahan wins in 3:42:12 (8:28/mi), finishing 22nd among women in the full field — a dominant margin over 2nd place.
• Tightest battle of the day: The anonymous 2nd-place finisher crossed in 4:02:55, a full 20:43 behind Carnahan but 35:09 ahead of Carmen Hurstrom (3rd, 4:37:44).
• Late surge from the top: Carnahan posted the 15th-fastest women's split on the 25.2M-to-finish stretch, climbing from 22nd to 22nd among women — holding her hard-won position in the closing miles against a warm, clear Fresno afternoon.
• Susan Medrano closes it out in 5:06:55 (11:42/mi), 5th in the F60-64 group, moving up steadily from 170th among women at mile 1 to finish 142nd.

Karen Carnahan, 62, of San Francisco, ran a controlled and ultimately commanding race. She moved through the women's field steadily — sitting 34th among women at the 10K mark, then climbing methodically to 22nd by the halfway point, where she locked in and held that position all the way to the tape. Her 3:42:12 at 8:28/mi is a serious effort in 74°F heat, and her 15th-fastest women's split on the final 25.2M-to-finish stretch shows she still had something left when others were fading.

The anonymous 2nd-place finisher, age 60, told a different kind of story — one of the day's best progressions. She entered the first mile 87th among women and spent the entire race moving forward, arriving at the finish 46th among women in 4:02:55 (9:16/mi). That's a 41-place climb through the women's field from start to finish.

Carmen Hurstrom of Livingston took 3rd in 4:37:44 (10:36/mi), though her race ran in the opposite direction — she was 48th among women early and gradually worked back through the field in reverse, settling 88th by the finish. She opened with the 50th-fastest women's split on the 1M-to-10K segment, a strong early effort that she couldn't quite sustain over 26.2 miles in the heat.

The anonymous 4th-place finisher (4:49:04, 11:02/mi) and Susan Medrano of Fresno (5th, 5:06:55, 11:42/mi) rounded out the five-woman F60-64 group, with Medrano posting the 118th-fastest women's split on the 23M-to-25.2M stretch on her way home.