Cleveland Half Marathon F30-34: Stier Dominates in the Heat

• Madeline Stier won the F30-34 age group in 1:20:18 (6:08/mi), holding 2nd among all women from start to finish and posting the 2nd-fastest women's split on the 5K–10K segment.
• Abbey Warth was a clear runner-up in 1:24:13 (6:25/mi) — nearly 4 minutes back but equally locked in, running 3rd among women throughout and matching Stier's 5K–10K aggression with the 3rd-fastest women's split on that same stretch.
• Ellen Kuerbitz made the most dramatic move of the race, climbing from 23rd among women at the 10K to 16th by the finish, fueled by the 13th-fastest women's split on the 10K–12.6M segment.
• Lilly Meier (8th, 1:42:15) doubled up on race weekend, having also placed 7th among women in the 10K — a standout two-race effort worth noting.

Madeline Stier ran a wire-to-wire statement in the F30-34 age group, crossing in 1:20:18 at a 6:08/mi clip on a warm, humid Cleveland morning — 75°F with 68% humidity is no small ask for a half marathon effort. She sat 2nd among all women from the opening miles and never wavered, including a blistering 5K–10K segment that ranked 2nd-fastest among women in the field. Abbey Warth tracked her at distance, clocking 1:24:13 (6:25/mi) and mirroring Stier's mid-race aggression with the 3rd-fastest women's 5K–10K split. The gap between them — nearly four minutes — was established early and never seriously threatened.

Behind the top two, the race got considerably more interesting. Marissa Ward claimed 3rd in 1:30:51 but paid for a fast start, sliding from 5th among women to 11th by the finish at 6:56/mi. Ellen Kuerbitz told the opposite story: sitting 23rd among women through 10K, she unleashed the 13th-fastest women's split on the 10K–12.6M stretch to surge to 16th and claim 4th in the age group at 1:32:59 (7:06/mi). Haley Serna (5th, 1:36:41) made a similar late charge, moving from 44th to 32nd among women over the back half with the 27th-fastest women's split on that segment.

Rounding out the listed finishers, Mallory Maher (6th, 1:40:37), Maggie Mccann (7th, 1:41:15), and Lilly Meier (8th, 1:42:15) were separated by just over two minutes across three spots. Meier's 1:42:15 is worth a second look — she had already raced the Cleveland 10K earlier in the weekend, finishing 7th among women there, making her half marathon performance a genuine double. Nikki Niemeyer finished 9th in 1:43:08 and Rachel Cannon rounded out the top ten in 1:45:30, with 388 more finishers completing a deep and competitive F30-34 field.