Cleveland Marathon F45-49: Economos Runs Away with It in the Heat

• Julie Economos, 3:22:06 (7:42/mi): Won the F45-49 group by 18:25 over 2nd place — and closed with the 12th-fastest women's finishing split from 22.5 miles in.
• Tightest battle of the day: Georgette Taylor (4th, 3:47:23) and Stephanie Lucas (5th, 3:47:46) — separated by just 23 seconds across 26.2 miles.
• Biggest charge: Lucas entered the women's field ranked 398th at 10K and crossed the line 69th — a relentless, race-long surge that earned her 5th in F45-49.
• Sandy Reich (3rd, 3:44:08): Closed with the 41st-fastest women's finishing split from 22.5 miles, climbing from 80th among women at 10K to 62nd at the line.

With 75°F temperatures, scattered clouds, and 68% humidity pressing down on Cleveland, the F45-49 group sent 38 women through 26.2 miles — and Julie Economos made it look like a different race than everyone else's. The 45-year-old from Brookhaven, GA ran a composed, progressive effort, moving from 57th among women at 10K all the way to 25th by the finish at a 7:42/mi clip. Her 12th-fastest women's split from 22.5 miles to the line confirmed she was still accelerating when others were grinding. Her winning margin of 18:25 over runner-up Jennie Swires (3:40:31, 8:25/mi) was decisive.

Swires, also 45 and racing on home soil in Mantua, OH, ran a steady if slightly fading second half — her gender place drifted from 57th to 54th between the halfway point and the finish — but she held on comfortably for the silver. Reich (3:44:08, 8:33/mi), representing Amstelveen, earned 3rd with a strong closing leg, climbing 18 spots among women in the final stretch to take the bronze.

The real drama unfolded just behind the podium. Taylor (3:47:23, 8:40/mi) from Morgantown, WV had moved as high as 54th among women at the halfway point but faded to 68th by the finish, leaving the door open for Lucas. The 46-year-old from Wexford, PA was virtually invisible at 10K — 398th among women — but ran one of the day's most relentless build performances, posting the 26th-fastest women's split from 22.5 miles in. Twenty-three seconds separated them at the tape: Taylor 4th, Lucas 5th. In a race, in that heat, over that distance — 23 seconds is almost nothing.