F75-79: Goldman Claims the Age Group in Sacramento

• Eileen Goldman, 77, won the F75-79 age group in 5:19:30 — a 12:11/mi average across 26.2 miles.
• Dilyn Radakovitz, 77, completed the age group's two-woman field in 6:14:40, finishing 55 minutes and 10 seconds back.
• Goldman made her most decisive move late, climbing from 3,431st to 3,120th among women over the final stretch of the race — a gain of more than 300 places in the women's field in the back half alone.

Two 77-year-olds lining up for a marathon in December deserves its own round of applause before the gun even fires. Goldman and Radakovitz were the entire F75-79 field at the 2023 California International Marathon, and both of them finished — which, on a 63°F overcast morning in Sacramento, is a story worth telling properly.

Goldman was the stronger runner on the day from start to finish, and she got stronger as the miles piled up. Her gender place held steady through the early checkpoints, then began a steady, persistent climb in the second half — she moved from 3,431st among women at the 5K mark all the way to 3,120th by the finish line. That kind of late-race momentum at a 12:11/mi average over a full marathon, at age 77, is genuinely impressive. Her best segment came between 35K and 40K, where she posted the 2,745th-fastest women's split on that stretch — solid work in the closing miles when most runners are fading.

Radakovitz had a different kind of day. She ran a steadier, more consistent position in the women's field through the middle miles, hovering around the 3,580s, before settling at 3,571st by the finish. Her pace of 14:17/mi over the full distance reflects the sheer endurance required to cover 26.2 miles, and completing the race is the headline in its own right. The gap between the two — 55 minutes and 10 seconds — was wide, but both women crossed the line, and in a two-person age group, that means a 100% completion rate and a podium for everyone who showed up.