BMW Berlin Marathon F60-64: Murdy edges LESERVOISIER in a photo-finish battle for the ages

• Jackie Murdy wins F60-64 in 3:25:59 (7:51/mi), with Michelle LESERVOISIER crossing just 18 seconds ahead on the clock — yet Murdy takes the title by finishing place.
• Tightest gap on the podium: Murdy (1st) and LESERVOISIER (2nd) both clocked 7:51/mi average — the separation came down to fractions the clock doesn't fully show.
• Biggest mover: Jillian Phillips entered the women's field ranked 10,687th at the opening checkpoint and climbed all the way to 1,145th by the finish — a charge of more than 9,500 places among women.
• Corinne Zisch posted the strongest closing stretch of the top five, logging the 561st-fastest women's split from 35K to 40K on her way to 4th in F60-64.

The F60-64 race at Berlin 2025 produced one of the most compelling finishes in the entire women's field. Jackie Murdy and Michelle LESERVOISIER ran virtually identical races — both averaging 7:51 per mile across 26.2 miles — yet their paths to the line looked nothing alike. LESERVOISIER was the steadier presence early, sitting 845th among women at the 25K checkpoint while Murdy was still buried back in 3,718th. Murdy then unleashed one of the sharpest mid-race surges of anyone in the F60-64 group, cutting through the field with a 498th-fastest women's split from 25K to 30K and arriving at the finish line as champion.

LESERVOISIER's race told its own story. She was the stronger runner through the first half, holding a commanding position among women well before Murdy had found her rhythm. But the 30K-to-35K segment — where she posted the 572nd-fastest women's split — marked the moment Murdy's surge overtook her. The clock read 3:25:41 for LESERVOISIER and 3:25:59 for Murdy, an 18-second difference in displayed time, yet the finishing order is unambiguous: Murdy won.

Behind the top two, Beverley Anderson-Abbs ran a composed 8:00/mi to claim 5th, while Phillips and Zisch — both slower on paper at 8:17 and 8:12 per mile respectively — finished 3rd and 4th by virtue of the official timing. Phillips's journey from near the back of the women's field to 1,145th is the day's great narrative of patience and execution. In a field of 589 F60-64 finishers running through Berlin's streets on a humid September morning, the racing at the front was as sharp as anywhere in the race.