Barks & Brews 5K: Cindy Gobel Wins the F70-74 with a Sub-32 Effort

• Cindy Gobel took the F70-74 title in 31:51 (10:15/mi), more than seven minutes clear of second place.
• Pam Sammons was the strongest finisher on the back half, climbing from 248th to 228th among women on the 1M-to-finish stretch — the most ground gained in the F70-74 group.
• Kathy Okins and Diane Miller were separated by just 55 seconds at the line (54:00 vs. 54:55), with Okins holding 4th after gaining positions late while Miller slipped back slightly.
• Seven women aged 70–73 finished a 5K on a warm Memorial Day morning in Sacramento — every one of them across the line.

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Cindy Gobel of Williams, CA made the F70-74 race her own from the start. Running at 10:15 per mile, she crossed in 31:51 — a time that also placed her well up the broader women's field and included the 110th-fastest women's split on the 1M-to-finish segment among all women in the race. Karin Boston of Sacramento was a clear second in 39:04, running a steady 12:35/mi, but the gap back to Gobel was never really in question.

The most animated racing in the group came further back. Pam Sammons (42:15) ran the second half with purpose, moving from 248th to 228th among women on that closing stretch — the sharpest positional climb of anyone in the F70-74 field. Meanwhile, the battle for 4th and 5th played out across a narrow 55-second window: Kathy Okins came home in 54:00, nudging up the women's standings late, while Diane Miller arrived at 54:55 having slipped a few spots in the final stretch. Both women were racing hard right to the end.

Kitty Sherman and Marilyn Currington rounded out the seven-woman group, finishing in 1:03:17 and 1:05:19 respectively under 73°F skies. With a two-minute gap between them, Currington closed things out at 21:02/mi — a reminder that on a clear morning in Sacramento, getting to that finish line is the whole point.