Chicago Marathon F35-39: Doucet Claims the Age Group Crown

• Shelley Doucet of Quispamsis won the F35-39 age group, posting the 16th-fastest women's split on the 35K–40K stretch — a decisive late-race surge that sealed the win.
• Deanna Ardrey of Boulder ran into 2nd with the 21st-fastest women's split on the opening 5K–10K segment, establishing herself near the front of the women's field early.
• Natalie Severy of Santa Fe rounded out the podium in 3rd, producing the 27th-fastest women's split among women on the Half–25K leg.
• Lauren Perkins of Brooklyn climbed steadily to 4th, backed by the 17th-fastest women's split on the 35K–40K segment — matching Doucet's finishing kick in speed, if not in position.

In a field of 3,346 F35-39 finishers on a cool, damp Chicago morning — 58°F with light rain and a 12 mph wind — Shelley Doucet of Quispamsis ran a composed, calculated race. Tracking as high as 20th among women at the 35K mark, she found another gear on the penultimate segment, posting the 16th-fastest women's split from 35K to 40K, and crossed the line as the age group champion.

Deanna Ardrey of Boulder took a different approach, going out fast. Her 21st-fastest women's split on the 5K–10K leg put her near the front of the women's field in the opening miles, and she held enough of that momentum to claim 2nd in the age group. Natalie Severy of Santa Fe sat just behind, running her best stretch through the Half–25K segment — 27th-fastest among women on that leg — before finishing 3rd.

Lauren Perkins of Brooklyn was perhaps the most impressive mover of the top four, climbing from 56th among women at the 5K checkpoint all the way to 33rd by 35K, then unleashing the 17th-fastest women's split on the 35K–40K leg to lock up 4th. Asheley Ferrie of Ventura told a different kind of story: starting well back in the women's field, she made her biggest move between 25K and 30K and ultimately charged all the way to 5th in the age group — a remarkable climb through the pack on the back half of the course.