F30-34: Ludick Runs Away from a Stacked Field at CIM

• Margaret Ludick won the F30-34 age group in 2:41:31 (6:10/mi), finishing clear of the field by 1 minute 37 seconds — the largest margin in the top five.
• The battle for 2nd through 4th was razor-thin: Casey Kilareski (2:43:08), Lauren Andrews (2:43:17), and Haley Chura (2:43:18) — nine seconds covering three podium spots.
• Ludick climbed from 156th among women at the opening checkpoint all the way to 17th by the finish, posting the 4th-fastest women's split on the 30K–35K segment — the stretch where she put the race away.
• Catherine Lisle ran the 15th-fastest women's split from 40K to the finish to close strongly and claim 5th in 2:43:49, while Lauren Andrews posted the 23rd-fastest women's closing split on that same segment to hold off Haley Chura for the final podium spot.

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On a cold, damp Sacramento morning — 56°F, light rain, and 90% humidity — Margaret Ludick ran one of the most controlled and calculated races in the F30-34 field. She started cautiously, sitting 156th among women through the first checkpoint, and spent the first half of the race threading her way steadily forward. Then came the 30K–35K stretch. That's where Ludick shifted gears and posted the 4th-fastest women's split of the entire race on that segment, moving from 62nd to 32nd among women in a single five-kilometer burst. From there it was a matter of holding form to the tape, which she did in 2:41:31 at 6:10/mi — a commanding win in a 535-runner age group.

The real drama in the F30-34 field unfolded behind her, where three women spent the final miles fighting for the podium. Casey Kilareski had been running a remarkably steady race — she was already 27th among women by 25K and barely moved from there, ultimately finishing 2nd in 2:43:08 with the 23rd-fastest women's split on the 10K–15K segment showing she built her speed early. Lauren Andrews and Haley Chura, meanwhile, came from deeper in the field. Andrews climbed from 69th among women to 31st, and Chura from 47th to 32nd. Andrews edged Chura by a single second — 2:43:17 to 2:43:18 — for 3rd, with Chura's 22nd-fastest women's split on 30K–35K not quite enough to close the gap.

Fifth through tenth told a similar story of relentless forward progress. Catherine Lisle moved from 82nd among women at the first checkpoint all the way to 38th at the finish, her 15th-fastest women's closing split from 40K to the finish driving a strong final push to 2:43:49. Andrea Imhof (2:44:03), Stephanie Pancoast (2:44:14), Raquel Jimenez (2:44:15), Caitlin Standifer (2:44:24), and Kristen Radcliff (2:44:29) rounded out the top ten — five runners separated by just 26 seconds, all under 6:17/mi, in one of the deepest age groups on the course.