F75-79 at CIM: Roslyn Smith Runs Away With It

• Roslyn Smith won the F75-79 age group in 4:09:59 (9:32/mi), finishing more than 1 hour 35 minutes ahead of second place.
• Deborah Hammond held off Ursula Uhlir for second, 5:45:24 to 5:56:52 — a gap of just over 11 minutes.
• All three women finished a full 26.2 miles at CIM on December 8, representing three different states (and one Canadian province).

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Just three women toed the line in the F75-79 age group at the 2024 California International Marathon, but the race produced a clear and commanding result. Roslyn Smith, 76, from Comox, BC, was in a class of her own, crossing in 4:09:59 at a 9:32-per-mile clip — a pace that would be impressive at any age, let alone in the 75-and-over bracket. She was never seriously challenged, and her margin of victory of more than 95 minutes tells the whole story.

Smith's race unfolded steadily through the women's field. She entered the 5K–10K segment posting the 1,421st-fastest split among women — a sign that she was running her own controlled race rather than chasing the pack. Her gender place drifted gradually back through the later miles as faster runners consolidated, but that was entirely by design: she finished where she needed to, first in her age group and well clear of the competition.

Behind her, Deborah Hammond (75, Tacoma, WA) and Ursula Uhlir (75, Fair Oaks, CA) waged their own quieter contest. Hammond ran the more consistent mid-race, posting her strongest relative stretch on the 10K–15K segment, and she maintained enough of a cushion to finish second in 5:45:24 (13:10/mi). Uhlir, a local from Fair Oaks, showed her best relative effort late — her 40K-to-finish split ranked 2,844th among women, suggesting she was still pushing hard in the closing kilometers — but 5:56:52 left her 11 minutes and 28 seconds behind Hammond at the line.

Three finishers, three complete marathons, and a winner who made it look almost straightforward. Smith takes the F75-79 title at CIM 2024.