F35-39 at the B.A.A. 10K: Rotich Runs Away With It in the Heat

• Caroline Rotich wins in 35:18 — a 5:41/mi average on a sweltering 85°F morning in Boston.
• Jen Moroz and Nada Pauer separated by one second — 36:40 to 36:41, with Moroz edging 2nd on the strength of the 20th-fastest women's split on the final 2K.
• Moroz moved from 29th to 24th among women across the race, one of the sharpest climbers in the women's field on the back half.
• 572 women ran F35-39, making it one of the deepest age groups on the course.

Boston's late-June heat had real teeth on Sunday — 85°F, thick humidity, and barely a breath of wind — and Caroline Rotich made it look manageable anyway. The 39-year-old from Santa Fe ran 35:18 at 5:41 per mile to take the F35-39 title by a clear 1:22 over second place. She held a steady position among the women throughout, sitting around 20th–22nd in the women's field from start to finish, and she closed with the 24th-fastest women's split on the second half — a controlled, authoritative performance from wire to wire.

Behind her, the race for the podium was a genuine thriller. Jen Moroz of Boston and Nada Pauer of Meersburg were locked together all the way to the line, finishing in 36:40 and 36:41 respectively — a single second deciding silver and bronze. Moroz earned her place the hard way: she ran the 20th-fastest women's split on the 8K-to-finish stretch, climbing from 29th among women at the midpoint all the way to 24th by the end. Pauer, meanwhile, had done her damage in the middle miles, posting the 23rd-fastest women's split on the 5K-to-8K segment to stay in contention.

Meaghan Murray rounded out the top four in 37:43, but the second half cost her — she slipped from 28th to 33rd among women as the heat took its toll. Becca Ades held firm in 5th at 39:00, and Katy Hayes and Victoria Bresnahan — both Newton/Acton locals — came home 6th and 7th to close out a competitive top seven. In a field of 572, the gap from Rotich's winning time to 20th place was just over 11 minutes, a testament to how much talent this age group brought to Boylston Street.