Way Too Cool 10M: Carrie Gale Runs Away with the F60-69 Title

• Carrie Gale won the F60-69 age group in 2:01:16 (12:08/mi), finishing 15th among all women — a commanding five-minute margin over runner-up Kathy Finney.
• Kathy Finney posted the 10th-fastest second-half split among the women on her way to 2nd in 2:06:17, climbing from 21st to 17th among women across the race.
• The gap from 4th to 5th place was just 30 seconds — Annette Schiltz (2:24:36) edging Cathy Targett (2:25:06) — the tightest battle on the day in this group.
• Eighteen women finished in the F60-69 age group, with times ranging from 2:01:16 to 2:51:11 across a warm, breezy afternoon in Cool.

Carrie Gale was never in doubt. Running at 12:08 per mile, the 65-year-old from Granite Bay held 15th among all women from the first checkpoint to the finish line — a model of even, controlled racing. Her 11th-fastest women's split on the Fire Station to HWY 49 segment showed she wasn't just managing; she was still pushing through the middle miles. The five-minute cushion she built over Kathy Finney tells the story plainly.

Finney, 61, out of Newcastle, made the most interesting move of the day in this group. She entered the second half sitting 20th among women and climbed to 17th by the finish, fueled by the 10th-fastest women's split on that back portion of the course. Her 2:06:17 was a clear 2nd, but the trajectory suggests she was stronger late than early.

Behind them, Holly Edes (3rd, 2:20:03) had a comfortable gap back to 4th, but the real drama was the 30-second duel for 4th and 5th. Annette Schiltz (2:24:36) held off Cathy Targett (2:25:06), who actually posted the 28th-fastest women's split on the HWY 49 to finish segment — not enough to close the gap, but a sign she was moving at the end. Laurel Posey of Cool, CA — racing on home turf — rounded out the top six in 2:26:41.