Masters Women at CIM: Leopold Leads Wire to Wire in Folsom-to-Sacramento Showdown

• Elizabeth Leopold (1st, 4:53:48) held the top spot in the Masters Women's field from the opening checkpoint to the finish line — and posted the fastest women's split on the 10K–15K segment to boot.
• Mai Nakamoto (3rd, 5:00:56) and Audrua Sysum (2nd, 5:00:56) crossed in the same clock time, but Sysum edged ahead by a sliver — and it was Sysum who ran the fastest women's split on the 5K–10K stretch, with Nakamoto second-fastest on that same segment.
• Kieu Chu (4th, 5:29:36) ran a 12:34/mi pace through a cold, humid Folsom morning — and contributed the 2nd-fastest women's split on the 25K–30K segment, a bright note in a 35-minute gap to the podium.

The Masters Women's field at the 2025 California International Marathon was a four-woman story told across 26.2 miles of cool, overcast December roads. Elizabeth Leopold of Folsom — racing, in a sense, on home turf — was never seriously threatened. She sat first among the Masters Women at every single checkpoint, running an 11:12/mi average and punctuating her day with the fastest women's split on the 10K–15K stretch. Her 4:53:48 finish was a commanding performance from start to finish.

Behind her, the real drama belonged to Audrua Sysum and Mai Nakamoto, who spent much of the race in a quiet duel. Sysum held second through the opening checkpoints, with Nakamoto in third. Nakamoto made her move between 15K and 25K, briefly climbing to second — but Sysum reclaimed the spot and held it to the line. Their finish times are identical on the clock at 5:00:56, yet the timing chips told the true story: Sysum in 2nd, Nakamoto in 3rd. Notably, it was Sysum who ran the faster early effort — posting the fastest women's split on the 5K–10K segment — while Nakamoto was right behind her on that same stretch. Two athletes, nearly mirrored across the morning, separated by mere fractions of a second.

Kieu Chu, 54, brought up fourth in 5:29:36 at a 12:34/mi pace. She was steady throughout and flashed genuine speed on the 25K–30K segment, where she posted the 2nd-fastest women's split — a reminder that the standings don't always capture the full picture of what's happening out on the course.