B.A.A. 10K Women's 25-29: Levi Smith Runs Away With It

• Levi Smith won the 25-29 women's age group in 49:58 (8:02/mi), posting the 2nd-fastest women's split in the field on the 5K-to-8K stretch.
• Diana Riordan claimed 2nd in 58:09 — a gap of just over 8 minutes back, running 9:22/mi through Boston's summer heat.
• Kaleigh Ferguson rounded out the three-woman group in 3rd at 1:14:53, finishing 12th among women overall and picking up places through the back half of the race.

Levi Smith made the 25-29 women's age group her own on a sweltering Boston morning — 85°F, 64% humidity, the kind of day that turns every mile into a negotiation. She crossed in 49:58, averaging 8:02 per mile, and at no point did the result feel in doubt. The most telling number came between 5K and 8K, where she posted the 2nd-fastest women's split in the entire field — a surge that briefly lifted her to 2nd among all women before she settled to 3rd by the finish line.

Diana Riordan held her own in second place, running a steady 9:22/mi to finish in 58:09. Her gender place stayed locked at 7th through the midpoint before she moved up to 6th in the closing stretch — a sign she was still finding legs late in the race. The 8-minute-plus gap to Smith tells the real story of how dominant the winner was on this particular day.

Kaleigh Ferguson completed the age group in 1:14:53, working at 12:03/mi through conditions that demanded patience. What stands out in her race is the trajectory — she moved from 15th among women at the first checkpoint to 12th by the finish, and her 5K-to-8K split ranked 11th among women in the field. She was moving in the right direction when it counted.

Three Somerville and Cambridge women, one scorching Sunday in Boston. Smith took the age group title convincingly; the story behind her was one of steady, determined forward progress from both Riordan and Ferguson.