F60-64 Marathon: Carnahan dominates while Hurstrom fades and the field fights to the line

• Karen Carnahan won the F60-64 group in 3:42:12 (8:28/mi), posting the 17th-fastest women's closing split from 25.2M to the finish.
• Second place came in 4:02:55 — a gap of more than 20 minutes back, but she surged through the women's field all day, climbing from 126th to 46th among women by the finish.
• Carmen Hurstrom started strong (51st-fastest women's split in the opening 1M–10K segment) but faded sharply, dropping from 54th to 92nd among women before recovering slightly to finish 3rd in 4:37:44.
• Five women completed the F60-64 race across a span of 1 hour, 24 minutes and 43 seconds, from first to last.

Karen Carnahan was never seriously threatened. She crossed in 3:42:12 at an 8:28/mi clip, and her finishing kick was no formality — her split from 25.2 miles to the line ranked 17th among all women in the race. What's more, she spent the entire race moving forward, climbing from 48th among women at the first checkpoint all the way to 22nd by the finish. That kind of sustained progression over 26.2 miles is a story of patience and strength in equal measure.

The race for second was its own compelling thread. The anonymous runner who claimed that spot ran a remarkably positive race, surging from 126th among women early on to finish 46th — a net gain of 80 places in the women's field. Her 4:02:55 (9:16/mi) left her more than 20 minutes behind Carnahan but well clear of third.

Carmen Hurstrom's race told a different story. She opened with genuine speed — her 1M–10K split ranked 51st among women — but the pace took its toll. She slid from 54th to 92nd among women through the middle miles, and while she recovered a touch late, she finished 3rd in 4:37:44. Fourth place came in at 4:49:04, and Fresno's own Susan Medrano closed out the group in 5:06:55, posting the 115th-fastest women's split on the 23M–25.2M segment before crossing the line in just under five hours and seven minutes.