California International Marathon F70-74: Myung Kim Dominates at 74

• Myung Kim, age 74, wins in 4:01:50 (9:13/mi) — more than 20 minutes clear of 2nd place Kate Stewart's 4:22:41.
• Tightest battle of the day: Janet Cain (3rd, 5:10:47) and Ellen Oppenheimer (4th, 5:13:11) were separated by just 2 minutes and 24 seconds across 26.2 miles.
• Sharon Chaix posted the strongest mid-race split among the back half of the field, recording her best relative effort on the Half→25K segment before fading over the final miles to finish 5th in 5:17:33.
• 13 women aged 70–74 finished a full marathon in December rain — the last finisher, Jennie Fong (13th, 7:12:22), covered every one of those miles.

Myung Kim of Los Angeles put on a masterclass in controlled, relentless running. At 74 years old, she crossed the line in 4:01:50 — a 9:13-per-mile clip that left the field behind from the start. Her tracking data tells the story clearly: she moved steadily through the women's field all day long, climbing from 1,856th among women at the first checkpoint all the way to 1,609th by the finish, gaining ground on runners decades younger with every passing kilometer.

Kate Stewart of Berkeley was the only other finisher to break 4:30, clocking 4:22:41 at 10:01/mi for a clear 2nd place. Stewart also made consistent progress through the women's field, improving from 2,473rd to 1,987th by the finish — a steady, well-managed effort over the full distance.

The race for 3rd was the most gripping subplot of the day. Janet Cain (Sonoma, 5:10:47) and Ellen Oppenheimer (Oakland, 5:13:11) ran the back half of the race in remarkably close company. Oppenheimer actually tracked slightly ahead of Cain in the women's field through the early checkpoints but couldn't hold the gap, and Cain ultimately came through 2 minutes and 24 seconds ahead. Sharon Chaix (San Diego) ran a competitive middle section — her sharpest relative split came between the half and 25K — but slowed over the final 10K, sliding from 2,422nd among women at that checkpoint to 2,769th by the finish, ending up 5th in 5:17:33.