F35-39 at Chicago 13.1: Nukuri dominates, Heckert locks up the runner-up spot

• Diane Nukuri wins F35-39 in 1:15:08 (5:44/mi), finishing 4th among all women — the class of the age group by more than four minutes.
• Kristen Heckert holds on for 2nd in 1:19:25, posting the 7th-fastest women's split on the second half to seal the runner-up position.
• Chirine Njeim and Veronica Laureano battle for the final podium spot — Njeim takes 3rd in 1:25:24 to Laureano's 1:25:54, a 30-second gap after 13.1 miles.
• Lisa Zabor climbs from 34th to 27th among women on the strength of the 23rd-fastest women's split on the 10K–15K stretch, finishing 5th in F35-39 at 1:28:47.

Diane Nukuri made this race look like a different event. The Flagstaff, AZ runner crossed in 1:15:08 at a 5:44/mi clip — more than four minutes clear of anyone else in the F35-39 field of 276. She was as steady as she was fast: holding 5th among all women through most of the race before moving to 4th late, and contributing the 3rd-fastest women's split on the 10K–15K segment. In warm, breezy conditions — 74°F and a 12 mph wind — that kind of sustained pace is a serious performance.

Behind her, Kristen Heckert of Bolingbrook ran a composed race to claim 2nd in 1:19:25. Her gender place ticked up slightly in the final stretch, but her 7th-fastest women's second-half split tells a more flattering story: she was running people down late, and the 6:03/mi average held firm through the finish line.

The battle for 3rd was where things got interesting. Chirine Njeim of Chicago sat comfortably in 7th among women through the midpoint, but faded to 17th by the end — still good enough for 3rd in F35-39 at 1:25:24. Veronica Laureano, meanwhile, ran a far more consistent race, moving steadily from 22nd among women all the way to 21st, finishing in 1:25:54. Njeim's early speed proved just enough — a 30-second cushion at the line.

Lisa Zabor rounded out the top five with a 1:28:47, her strongest stretch coming on the 10K–15K segment where she posted the 23rd-fastest women's split and moved from 34th to 26th among women. Maria Luevano-Salazar (1:30:13) and Victoria Digiannantonio (1:30:17) were separated by just four seconds in 6th and 7th, one of the tightest gaps in the field.