Half Marathon X20-24: Ibarra owns the division

• Solo winner: Itzel Ibarra, Long Beach native, finished in 2:24:51 at an 11:03/mi average — the only finisher in the X20-24 field.
• Strong closing kick: Ibarra posted the 8th-fastest women's split on the 10.8M-to-finish stretch, moving up a spot among the women in the final miles.
• Steady gender standing: Ibarra held 9th among women at the finish, climbing from 10th after a sharper final leg.

Itzel Ibarra showed up, toed the line, and got the job done — running the entire 13.1 miles as the sole representative of the X20-24 field. At 22 years old and racing in her home city of Long Beach, she crossed in 2:24:51, a steady 11:03 per mile from start to finish.

What makes the performance worth noting isn't just the finish — it's how she closed. Over the final stretch from 10.8 miles to the line, Ibarra ran the 8th-fastest women's split in the field, moving from 10th to 9th among all women in the race. That kind of late-race acceleration, when most runners are digging deep just to hold their pace, is a real marker of a well-managed effort.

Racing without a competitor in her field to push or chase, Ibarra set her own tempo and executed. The X20-24 title is hers, uncontested but genuinely earned.