Girls U-14 at Two Cities: Mia Luna Leads a Field of Young Marathoners

• Mia Luna, 13, wins the F0-14 age group in 2:18:35 (10:34/mi), finishing nearly 47 minutes ahead of the next finisher.
• R. Chase, 12, claims second in 3:05:53 (14:11/mi), the youngest in the field.
• Judith Farfan, 14, completes the three-finisher group in 3:22:40 (15:28/mi), nearly 17 minutes behind Chase.
• All three girls finished a full half marathon on a warm Fresno morning — 74°F at race time.

Three girls made up the F0-14 age group at the Two Cities Half Marathon, and Mia Luna, just 13 years old, made quick work of the field. Running 10:34/mi, she crossed in 2:18:35 and was never seriously threatened for the age-group win. Her early race showed real strength — she moved from 267th among women after the first mile to 198th by the 10K mark, posting the 195th-fastest women's split in the field on that opening stretch. She faded slightly in the back half, settling to 281st among women at the finish, but the win was never in doubt.

R. Chase, age 12, ran a composed race from Madera to claim second in 3:05:53. She ran 14:11/mi and held a steady position in the women's field through the 10K and to the finish, posting the 624th-fastest women's split on the 10K-to-finish stretch. At 12, she's the youngest finisher in this group — and finishing a half marathon at that age is no small thing.

Judith Farfan, 14, had the most dramatic positional arc of the three. She was actually running inside the top 200 among women through the 10K — posting the 181st-fastest women's split on the 1M-to-10K segment — but the back half proved costly, as she fell to 681st among women by the finish. She crossed in 3:22:40 (15:28/mi), 16:47 behind Chase. The early speed was real; holding it over 13.1 miles in the Fresno heat is the challenge she'll look to solve next time out.