F25-29 at CIM 2022: Mostatabi Wins a Sub-2:35 Showdown in the Rain

• Sara Mostatabi, 2:34:33 (5:54/mi) — wins the F25-29 age group, the only finisher under 2:35 in the group.
• 69-second gap from 1st to 4th — Sophia King (2:35:42), Amelia Keyser-Gibson (2:36:06), and Michelle Krezonoski (2:36:30) all finished within 48 seconds of each other.
• Sophia King's late charge — King climbed from 83rd among women at the start to 31st by the finish, posting the 14th-fastest women's split on the 35K–40K segment.
• 470 finishers in the F25-29 age group, with the top 20 all breaking 2:45.

Sacramento delivered a cold, wet December morning — 56°F, light rain, and a steady 7 mph wind — and the F25-29 age group answered with some of the sharpest racing in the field. Sara Mostatabi of Los Angeles crossed in 2:34:33, averaging 5:54 per mile to claim the age-group win by over a minute. She ran a composed, measured race, sitting 27th among women through the early checkpoints before methodically climbing to 19th by 40K — then holding her position to the line. Her 17th-fastest women's split on the 30K–35K segment shows she was still pressing deep into the race.

Behind her, the battle for 2nd through 4th was relentless. Sophia King (2:35:42) was the most dramatic mover of the day, starting 83rd among women and grinding her way forward with one of the strongest late-race surges in the group — the 14th-fastest women's split from 35K to 40K propelled her from 47th at 35K all the way to 31st among women at the finish, and 2nd in the age group. Amelia Keyser-Gibson of Seattle ran a similarly aggressive second half, posting the 15th-fastest women's split on 30K–35K to finish 3rd in 2:36:06. Michelle Krezonoski (2:36:30, 4th) and Julia Vasquez (2:36:35, 5th) rounded out a top five separated by just two minutes total.

The depth of this age group was striking. Kim Krezonoski — finishing 6th in 2:37:11, just 36 seconds behind her fellow Kingston runner Michelle — and Nicolette St. Lawrence (7th, 2:37:52) kept the pressure on through the top ten. All 20 listed finishers broke 2:45, and with 470 women completing the race in this age group, the competition stretched well beyond the names at the front.