Kaua'i Marathon F35-39: Humphreys Runs Down the Field to Take the Title

• Alexandra Humphreys won the F35-39 age group in 4:08:35 (9:29/mi), posting the 9th-fastest women's closing split from 24.15 miles to the finish.
• Nikka Takane took 2nd in 4:13:53, just 5:18 back, and also surged late with the 10th-fastest women's closing split — the two Fort Washington and Hilo runners trading blows all the way home.
• Sophie Ballantyne (Palm Beach, QLD) earned 3rd in 4:29:23, her margin over 4th-place Camille Khairallah a comfortable 3:53.
• The field of 15 spanned over 2:39 from first to last, with a sharp split between the top five (all under 4:35) and the rest.

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Warm and humid on Kauai's south shore — 77°F with 69% humidity — Alexandra Humphreys spent the first half of this race working her way through the women's field rather than leading it. She entered the race sitting 32nd among women, but by the halfway point she had climbed to 13th, and she held that ground all the way to the finish, ultimately claiming the F35-39 title in 4:08:35. That late closing split — 9th-fastest among all women from 24.15 miles to the line — tells the story of a runner who saved something for when it counted.

Nikka Takane ran a strikingly similar race. She too moved steadily through the women's field, going from 25th at the first checkpoint to 12th by the finish. Her closing split was the 10th-fastest among women on that same final stretch, and she crossed in 4:13:53 — 5:18 behind Humphreys but well clear of the rest of the age group. These two ran the most purposeful races in the field.

Sophie Ballantyne of Palm Beach, Queensland made her own move in the back half, climbing from 50th among women at the first check all the way to 24th by the finish, good for 3rd in the age group in 4:29:23. Camille Khairallah (Cambridge, MA) was strongest in the middle miles — posting the 19th-fastest women's split from 6.55 miles to the half — and finished 4th in 4:33:16. Jana Cano, racing on home turf in Lihue, rounded out the top five in 4:34:57, though she faded slightly after a strong early position of 14th among women.