Two Cities Marathon 5K — F70-74: Hammer Dominates, Fresno Fills the Field

• Karen Hammer, 70, wins in 32:56 (10:36/mi) — more than six minutes clear of the field.
• Rosalinda Hernandez takes 2nd in 39:00, with Julie Small 3rd in 42:45 — a 3:45 gap between them.
• Sally Mistretta (44:41) and Mona Borjas (44:56) battle to a near-identical finish, just 15 seconds separating 4th and 5th.
• Nancy Schutz and Susan Melo both clock 56:05 — Schutz edges 8th, Melo 9th by the finest of margins.

Karen Hammer made this one look straightforward. The 70-year-old from Clovis crossed in 32:56 at a 10:36/mi clip — a full 6:04 ahead of anyone else in the F70-74 field. That kind of margin doesn't happen by accident; it's a wire-to-wire statement. Rosalinda Hernandez of Fresno was a clear and worthy runner-up at 39:00 (12:33/mi), running more than three minutes faster than the next finisher.

Julie Small rounded out the podium in 42:45, while the race for 4th and 5th produced the afternoon's tightest duel. Sally Mistretta (44:41) and Mona Borjas (44:56) — the latter the oldest finisher in the group at 74 — were separated by just 15 seconds after covering 3.1 miles. Borjas, running at 14:28/mi to Mistretta's 14:23/mi, made it a genuine contest to the line. RoseMary Duran (48:28) and Peggy Hand (49:16) filled out the top seven.

Further back, the timing system needed a tiebreaker: Nancy Schutz and Susan Melo both registered 56:05, but Schutz claimed 8th and Melo 9th by the narrowest measurable margin. Jean Eisele (1:03:16) and Marie Failla (1:03:29) ran nearly in lockstep as well, separated by just 13 seconds in 10th and 11th. Linda Franklin rounded out the 12-woman field in 1:10:36 (22:43/mi) — all 12 finishers earning their medal on a fall Sunday in Fresno.