California International Marathon F35-39: Lieberg Runs Away with It

• Heather Lieberg wins in 2:38:16 (6:02/mi), more than four minutes clear of the rest of the F35-39 field of 618.
• Anne-Marie Madden and Melissa Burkart finished 2nd and 3rd in 2:42:18 and 2:42:34 — just 16 seconds separating them after 26.2 miles.
• Allison Delancey and Adrian Neal rounded out the top five in 2:43:13 and 2:44:06, with Sarah Rimel close behind in 6th at 2:44:15.
• Burkart was a consistent climber, entering the women's field 83rd and working her way up to 56th by the finish, posting the 50th-fastest women's split on the 10K–15K segment.

Heather Lieberg, 39, put in one of the standout performances of the entire women's race, crossing in 2:38:16 at 6:02 per mile. She held a position in the mid-to-high teens among all women through the early miles, drifted back slightly to 27th by 35K, then steadied and held. The 4:02 gap she built over the rest of the F35-39 field was no accident — her 19th-fastest women's split on the 25K–30K segment shows she was still moving with authority through the race's most decisive stretch.

Behind her, the battle for 2nd and 3rd was as close as the standings get without being a tie. Anne-Marie Madden, 37, ran 2:42:18 and Melissa Burkart, 36, of Hudson, WI, finished in 2:42:34 — 16 seconds after 26.2 miles. Madden made her move late, posting the 32nd-fastest women's split from 30K to 35K and surging from 65th among women at that checkpoint all the way to 46th by 40K. Burkart's strength came earlier; she was climbing steadily from the gun, moving from 83rd to 56th in the women's field by the finish.

Allison Delancey of Gilbert, AZ, was another consistent mover, working from 111th in the women's field at the opening checkpoint down to 73rd at the line, finishing 4th in 2:43:13. Adrian Neal of Colorado Springs, CO, was perhaps the most impressive finisher in the back half of the top five — she ran the 59th-fastest women's split from 40K to the finish and climbed from 106th to 85th among women to claim 5th in 2:44:06, with Sarah Rimel of Austin, TX just nine seconds back in 6th at 2:44:15.