Two Cities Half Marathon: Susan Bonds Dominates the F60-64 Field

• Susan Bonds won the F60-64 group in 1:57:44 (8:59/mi), finishing more than 3 minutes ahead of runner-up Laura Gross.
• Bonds climbed from 168th to 87th among women in the second half — posting the 68th-fastest women's split on the 10K-to-finish stretch.
• Laura Gross made the most dramatic move of the group, advancing from 218th to 116th among women across the race.
• Just 13 seconds separated 6th-place Cathy Buckert (2:42:31) from 7th-place Rhonda Hamil (2:42:44).

Susan Bonds put on a clinic in controlled aggression on a warm November morning in Fresno — 74°F and clear skies aren't nothing at 9 minutes per mile. She entered the second half of the race sitting 168th among women and finished 87th, a swing of 81 places that tells the real story. Her 8:59/mi average held firm through the final push, and her 68th-fastest women's split over the 10K-to-finish segment was the sharpest closing kick in the F60-64 group.

Laura Gross had a similar second-half surge, moving from 218th all the way to 116th among women to claim 2nd in 2:00:52 — a gap of just over three minutes behind Bonds. Kellie Marshall, one of two 64-year-olds on the podium, rounded out the top three in 2:12:00, having posted the 210th-fastest women's split on the opening 1M-to-10K stretch and holding her position through the finish.

The middle of the field told its own story. Sue Kounechongprasert (4th, 2:21:05) and Rozine Bedoyan (5th, 2:23:28) were separated by just over two minutes, both working through the heat at a steady 10-to-11-minute-mile effort. Then came a tight cluster at the back of the top eight: Buckert, Hamil, and Brenda Niles finished within two minutes of each other, with Buckert and Hamil separated by a mere 13 seconds. All 11 finishers crossed the line — a full F60-64 field completing a half marathon in November heat — and that's worth noting on its own.