Cleveland Marathon 5K — F45-49: Fisher Runs Away from a Deep Northeast Ohio Field

• Kelly Fisher (Kent, OH) wins in 28:08 — a 9:03/mi pace that put 49 seconds between her and 2nd place before the finish line.
• Allison Wukotich (28:57) held 2nd comfortably, finishing 1:18 clear of 3rd-place Erin Hollenbank (30:15).
• Lauren Brister and Jessica Zeiser battled to the wire — just 3 seconds separated 4th (30:53) from 5th (30:56) in the closest contest of the afternoon.
• 72 women finished in the F45-49 age group, with the top 20 spanning a range from 28:08 down to 36:59.

On a humid Cleveland morning — 83% humidity, a 15 mph wind, and 67°F — Kelly Fisher made it look controlled. Her 9:03/mi average was a clear step above the rest of the F45-49 field, and she crossed in 28:08 to claim the age-group win outright. The gap to Allison Wukotich (28:57, 9:19/mi) was nearly a full minute — a margin that tells you Fisher was in a different gear from the opening stretch.

Wukotich, representing Youngstown, ran a composed race of her own and had little to worry about behind her. Erin Hollenbank of Cleveland — racing on home turf — took 3rd in 30:15 (9:44/mi), a solid 1:18 back of Wukotich but well clear of the next chase pack.

That chase pack produced the day's sharpest drama. Lauren Brister (Shaker Heights) and Jessica Zeiser (Lakewood) ran nearly side by side through the final stretch — Brister crossing 4th in 30:53 and Zeiser 5th in 30:56, just three ticks of the clock apart. Meredith Black (Brecksville, 31:26) and Jieun Kim (Solon, 31:36) followed in 6th and 7th, keeping the mid-pack honest all the way through.

Further back, a cluster of runners bunched between 34:49 and 35:07 — Angelina Kinney (11th, 34:49), Amy Brandfass (12th, 34:57), Richet Clark (13th, 34:58), Jennifer Cheney (14th, 34:59), and Devan Sutphin (15th, 35:07) — separated by a combined 18 seconds across five places, making for one of the tightest sub-battles in the entire F45-49 field on a demanding weather day.