Long Beach Marathon Women: Paige Moore Wins, But the Real Story Is Behind Her

• Paige Moore took the women's title in 2:12:19 (5:03/mi), with Salena Gallardo Dominguez 2nd in 2:15:00 and Hope Stark 3rd in 2:16:18.
• Sophia Carcamo, just 19 years old, ran the 2nd-fastest women's split from 13.1M to 20M and rocketed from 13th to a final 4th place finish of 2:13:42 — the second-fastest time among all women on the day.
• Melinda Philpot crossed in 2:10:09 (4:58/mi) — the fastest raw time among any listed finisher — yet placed 12th among women, a reminder of how much ground was decided in the opening miles.
• Megan Hansen ran 3rd among women through the halfway mark before fading to 8th, while Hope Stark climbed from 11th to the podium with the 3rd-fastest women's split from 13.1M to 20M.

Paige Moore owned the front of this race from the opening miles, sitting 2nd among women through both the 5.5-mile and half-marathon checkpoints before holding that position all the way to the finish line — except the runner ahead of her never made it to the results. Moore's 2:12:19 at 5:03/mi was a commanding performance across 1,346 finishers in the women's field, and her 2nd-fastest women's split from 5.5M to 13.1M showed she was doing the real work in the middle miles. Gallardo Dominguez (2:15:00, 5th-fastest women's split on that same stretch) was methodical and consistent, holding 4th through the checkpoints before settling into 2nd at the line.

The back half of this race belonged to the chasers. Hope Stark (Colorado Springs) was 11th at the halfway point and climbed steadily, posting the 3rd-fastest women's split from 13.1M to 20M to land on the podium in 2:16:18. Sophia Carcamo was even more dramatic — 13th at the half, she ran the 2nd-fastest women's split over that same stretch to surge all the way to 4th in 2:13:42. At 19 years old, she finished just 1:23 behind Moore, the fastest time in the women's field aside from the winner.

Meanwhile, Megan Hansen showed early ambition, running 3rd among women through the half before the final miles took their toll — she finished 8th in 2:18:54. And then there's Melinda Philpot: her 2:10:09 at 4:58/mi was the fastest time on the sheet, yet the timing of her race left her 12th among women, a vivid illustration of how much this 72°F Long Beach morning rewarded those who went out conservatively and ran their strongest miles last.