F45-49: Columba Montes Claims Chicago 13.1 in a Battle of Seconds

• Winner: Columba Montes (Chicago, IL) crossed in 1:30:54 at a 6:56/mi clip — the fastest in the F45-49 field of 297.
• Closest battle: Just 24 seconds separated Montes from runner-up Tracie Hunter (1:31:18), with a full 3:46 back to third.
• Late chargers: Caoimhe Nic Fhogartaigh, Katarzyna Strozak, and Wendy Curry all posted strong final segments — Nic Fhogartaigh's 15K-to-finish split ranked 48th among all women, Strozak's 77th, and Curry's 87th — each moving up meaningfully through the back half.
• Conditions: 79°F with a 20 mph wind and low humidity made this a genuinely demanding morning in Chicago.

Columba Montes ran a controlled, tactical race through the heat. She held steady in the mid-30s among all women through the first half, drifted slightly to 45th by the finish, but never let the pace slip where it mattered most — her 6:56/mi average held firm across the distance and was enough to take the F45-49 crown by 24 seconds. Tracie Hunter pushed her every step of the way, climbing steadily from 53rd among women at the first checkpoint all the way to 47th by 15K before settling 48th at the line — a disciplined, progressive effort that nearly closed the gap.

Third place went to Caoimhe Nic Fhogartaigh, making the trip from London worthwhile with a 1:35:04 and one of the stronger finishing kicks in the group. She entered the final stretch ranked 73rd among women and surged to 62nd — a notable move in warm, windy conditions. Katarzyna Strozak (River Grove, IL) and Wendy Curry (Chicago, IL) rounded out the top five with similar stories: both gained ground steadily throughout, with Curry climbing from 158th among women at the opening checkpoint all the way to 111th by the finish line.

Behind the top five, the F45-49 field was deep and competitive across all 297 finishers. Yanet Garcia and Raesue Kao finished just four seconds apart — Garcia in 1:42:14, Kao in 1:42:18 — for sixth and seventh, with Melissa Bennis close behind at 1:42:54. On a tough morning for racing, the women in this group delivered.