NYC Half W25-29: Van Es edges Belayneh by one second in a sub-1:09 showdown

• Diane Van Es, 1:08:21 — wins the W25-29 group at 5:13/mi, pulling from 6th among women to 4th with the 5th-fastest women's split on the 15K–20K stretch.
• One second. That's the margin between Van Es and Fentaye Belayneh (1:08:22), who posted the 3rd-fastest women's split on the 10K–15K segment and held 4th–5th among women throughout.
• Amanda Vestri (1:09:22) and Annie Frisbie (1:09:25) rounded out the podium with a three-second gap between them, Vestri logging the 7th-fastest women's split on 15K–20K and Frisbie the 8th-fastest on the second half.
• Emily Venters (1:09:46) moved from 13th to 10th among women across the race's final segments, posting the 6th-fastest women's split on the second half.

In a 3,737-strong W25-29 field on a crisp 40°F morning from Prospect Park to Central Park, the race at the front came down to seconds. Diane Van Es of Rotterdam crossed in 1:08:21 at a 5:13/mi clip, but the story of her win is in the movement: she sat 6th among women at the midway checkpoints before unleashing the 5th-fastest women's split on the 15K–20K segment, vaulting to 4th in the women's field and first in W25-29. Fentaye Belayneh of Addis Ababa had her own moment of brilliance — the 3rd-fastest women's split on the 10K–15K stretch — but couldn't match Van Es's late surge, finishing one second back in 1:08:22. A catch-up race that ended in a near-miss.

Behind them, Amanda Vestri (1:09:22, 5:17/mi) and Annie Frisbie (1:09:25, 5:18/mi) ran a tight battle for third and fourth, separated by just three seconds. Both were inside 1:09:30, and both were climbing the women's standings in the back half — Vestri with the 7th-fastest women's split on 15K–20K, Frisbie with the 8th-fastest on the second half overall.

The most dramatic mover in the top ten was Emily Venters of Salt Lake City, who sat 13th among women at multiple checkpoints before finishing 10th in the women's field with the 6th-fastest women's second-half split — a 1:09:46 (5:19/mi) that earned her 5th in W25-29. Konstanze Klosterhalfen (1:10:04) and Agnes Ngetich (1:10:25) followed in 6th and 7th, with the top seven all finishing under 1:11. Lauren Gregory (1:11:12) and Elena Hayday (1:11:21) completed a top nine that held the 5:30/mi barrier, before a notable gap back to Julia Pleskaczynska in 10th at 1:15:26.