F75-79 at CIM 2018: Hansi Rigney Leads a Fearless Foursome

• Hansi Rigney, 77, wins the F75-79 group in 4:36:01 (10:32/mi), finishing nearly 19 minutes clear of runner-up JoAnn Hall.
• JoAnn Hall, 77, takes 2nd in 4:54:40 (11:14/mi), holding a remarkably steady position among the women throughout the race.
• Martha Fitzpatrick, 75, claims 3rd in 5:39:04 (12:56/mi); Judy Shipman, 77, rounds out the group in 4th in 6:02:22 (13:49/mi).
• Four women lined up in the F75-79 group on a cool, calm Sacramento morning — and all four crossed the finish line.

Under partly cloudy skies and near-perfect 53°F conditions, the F75-79 group at the 2018 California International Marathon delivered exactly what the sport is about: four women in their mid-to-late 70s running 26.2 miles and finishing every last one of them. Hansi Rigney of Carmel was the class of the field from the gun, running a composed 10:32-per-mile pace to stop the clock at 4:36:01. Her moves among the women's field told the story of a patient, building race — she climbed steadily from 2,558th among women at 5K all the way to 2,379th by 40K, then closed with the 1,920th-fastest women's split on the final 40K-to-finish stretch to seal the win.

JoAnn Hall of Redding was equally composed in her own right, finishing 2nd in 4:54:40 at 11:14 per mile. Hall's position among the women barely wavered across the entire course — she hovered in a narrow band throughout, a testament to even-effort running. Her best relative moment came between the half and 25K, where she posted the 2,358th-fastest women's split on that segment, one of her stronger stretches of the day.

Martha Fitzpatrick of Pasadena crossed 3rd in 5:39:04, running 12:56 per mile and showing a bit of a late lift — she gained ground among the women's field from 40K to the finish, posting the 2,925th-fastest women's split on that closing segment. Judy Shipman of Rancho Cordova, running on home turf in Rancho Cordova, finished 4th in 6:02:22 (13:49/mi). Her strongest relative segment came early — the 3,338th-fastest women's split from 5K to 10K — before the miles took their toll. Four starters, four finishers: that's the only stat that matters most.