Masters Female Marathon: Ashley Relf Runs Away With It

• Ashley Relf wins in 3:25:32 (7:51/mi), finishing 50 minutes and 20 seconds clear of 2nd place — a dominant wire-to-wire victory.
• Lindsay Carl surges late, posting the 5th-fastest women's split on the Lap 2→Lap 3 segment to secure 2nd in 4:15:52.
• Angie Pozzi, 66, claims 3rd in 4:30:56 — the eldest in the Masters Female field and still on the podium.
• A wide spread defines the field: from Relf's 7:51/mi to Holly Peterson-Herr's 8th-place 7:34:30 finish, the pace range across the eight finishers tells eight very different stories.

Ashley Relf never gave anyone a reason to dream of catching her. She led among the women from the opening checkpoint through every split to the finish line, and she didn't just hold position — she ran the Out & Back→Lap 1 segment as the fastest woman on that stretch, immediately establishing a gap that only widened. At 7:51/mi through a foggy, humid Sacramento morning, Relf's 3:25:32 was in a class of its own in the Masters Female field.

Behind her, Lindsay Carl (Kaysville, UT) pieced together a quietly impressive race. Starting the day in 8th among the women, Carl steadily climbed — moving to 6th by the midpoint and holding there — before unleashing the 5th-fastest women's split of the Lap 2→Lap 3 segment to finish 2nd in 4:15:52. It was a back-half performance worth noting. Angie Pozzi of Granite Bay rounded out the podium in 4:30:56, and at 66 years old she was the most experienced presence in the field. Her Lap 1→Lap 2 split ranked 6th among the women, and she navigated some positional shuffling through the middle laps before locking in 3rd for good.

Yvonneke Larke (Sacramento) took 4th in 4:40:05, also posting the 6th-fastest women's split on the Out & Back→Lap 1 leg. Julia Croteau (Placerville) held 5th from start to finish in 6:15:11, followed by Gysel Parajon (6th, 6:24:32), Mary Ochoa (7th, 6:30:51), and Holly Peterson-Herr, who brought it home in 7:34:30 to complete all eight finishers in the Masters Female field.