California International Marathon F75-79: Furlong Claims the Crown in Sacramento's Oldest Women's Age Group

• Candace Furlong, 75, wins in 5:36:25 (12:50/mi), finishing more than 12 minutes clear of the field.
• Barbara Rinker, 79, edges Anne Marie Gonsalves, 78, for second — just 55 seconds separating them after nearly six hours of racing (5:48:56 vs. 5:49:51).
• Curt Hansman, 75, crosses fourth in 5:55:59, and Dilyn Radakovitz, 79, rounds out the five-woman group in 6:09:46 — the only finisher to crack 14:10/mi pace.
• All five women completed 26.2 miles on a cool, overcast Sacramento morning — five finishers in the F75-79 age group, a feat worth naming on its own.

Candace Furlong controlled this race from start to finish. The 75-year-old Sacramento local ran a disciplined 12:50/mi to finish in 5:36:25, and while her women's field position drifted slightly in the back half — sliding from around 2,785th among women at the halfway point to 2,853rd at the finish — she was never threatened within the F75-79 group. The gap she built was real and it held.

The battle for second was the subplot of the day. Barbara Rinker, 79, and Anne Marie Gonsalves, 78, ran the majority of this race within striking distance of each other. Rinker was the stronger runner through the middle miles — her 2,694th-fastest women's split from 20K to the half suggests she was moving well through that stretch — but Gonsalves, whose best segment came from the half to 25K, kept the pressure on. In the end, Rinker held second by just 55 seconds: 5:48:56 to 5:49:51. After nearly six hours of running, that's a catch-up story that nearly erased Rinker's advantage entirely.

Curt Hansman, 75, running from LaGrange, Illinois, finished fourth in 5:55:59 at a 13:35/mi clip. Dilyn Radakovitz, 79, of Loomis, CA, closed out the group in 6:09:46 — her 14:06/mi pace reflecting a tough back half, though her best split segment came between 30K and 35K, showing she still found something late in the race.