Fort Ord 25K — F30-39: Purcell Dominates, Ryan Storms Through the Back Half

• Anna Purcell won the F30-39 age group in 2:06:03 (8:07/mi), posting the fastest women's split on the Skyline→Toro Creek segment and leading the women's race from the second checkpoint onward.
• Briana Ryan climbed from 17th among women at the first checkpoint to 7th by the finish, logging the 6th-fastest women's split on Toro Creek→Finish on her way to 2nd in F30-39 in 2:47:27.
• Franny Valour ran the opposite arc — 7th among women early, fading to 14th by the finish — but still claimed 3rd in F30-39 in 2:56:58.
• Elizabeth Pargin and Jordan Last crossed the line in the same clock time of 3:14:42, but the timing chips separated them into 5th and 6th respectively.

Anna Purcell made her intentions clear early. Starting near the front, she moved into first among women by the second checkpoint and never looked back, averaging 8:07 per mile across the damp, overcast Fort Ord trails. Her fastest women's split on the Skyline→Toro Creek stretch was the decisive moment — a 41-minute gap over runner-up Briana Ryan tells the story of a race that was, at the top, never truly in doubt.

The real drama unfolded further back. Briana Ryan was 17th among women through the first checkpoint, a position that would have suggested a quiet day. Instead, she put together the 6th-fastest women's split on the final Toro Creek→Finish stretch, reeling in competitor after competitor to finish 2nd in F30-39 in 2:47:27. Meanwhile, Franny Valour ran the inverse — strong early, fading through the back half — but her 2:56:58 was enough to hold 3rd. Sidney Bastura rounded out the podium in 4th at 3:02:34, consistent throughout but unable to match Valour's early pace.

The mid-pack offered its own intrigue. Pargin and Last both clocked 3:14:42, close enough that only the timing chips could separate them into 5th and 6th. Megan Violand followed in 7th at 3:18:47, with Kristine Fuentes (8th, 3:27:32) and Diana Schultz (9th, 3:27:42) separated by just ten seconds. All 19 finishers completed the course on a cool, humid morning at Fort Ord — with Kailey Bennett rounding out the field in 19th at 6:10:20.