F60-64: Annie Deioma Runs Down a Sub-3:01 Win in Long Beach

• Annie Deioma, 63, wins in 3:00:15 (6:52/mi) — the only F60-64 finisher under 3:01 on a warm, humid October morning.
• Xiangchun Gao surged to her best women's split of the race between miles 5.5 and 13.1 — climbing as high as 182nd among all women — before fading to 2nd in 3:01:13, just 58 seconds behind.
• Susan Pantely ran a steady, progressive race, moving from 292nd to 252nd among women across the back half, finishing 3rd in 3:06:14.
• A 1:59:54 gap separates 1st from 19th — 19 finishers spread across a wide range of efforts, from Deioma's 6:52/mi to Mary Perez's 11:38/mi.

Annie Deioma of San Diego crossed in 3:00:15 — a 6:52-per-mile effort that held up across all 26.2 miles on a muggy 72-degree day. Her path wasn't perfectly smooth: her gender place dipped from 202nd to 213th through the first half before she rallied to 199th by the finish, meaning she ran the back half of the race stronger than the field around her. The 13.1-to-20-mile stretch was her most competitive segment, where she posted the 201st-fastest women's split — solid work in a deep women's field.

The real drama in the early miles belonged to Gao. The 62-year-old from Glendale blazed the 5.5-to-13.1-mile segment with the 180th-fastest women's split in the field, surging from 196th to 182nd among all women — a genuine mid-race move. But the second half cost her, as she slipped back to 214th among women by the finish. She still held on for 2nd in 3:01:13, a 58-second margin behind Deioma that reflects a real gap in the final miles. Susan Pantely, traveling from Pittsburgh, ran the most consistent arc of the podium — steadily climbing from 292nd to 252nd among women and finishing 3rd in 3:06:14 at 7:06/mi.

Behind the podium, Terry Felicitas (4th, 3:26:14) and Barbara Mezaki (5th, 3:27:25) were separated by just 71 seconds, both making meaningful moves through the back half — Felicitas climbing from 659th to 473rd among women, Mezaki from 585th to 500th. Pam Cohen (6th, 3:34:07) and Lucia Pardo (7th, 3:35:26) rounded out the top seven within a 90-second window. At the back of the field, Amie Jacoby (19th, 4:48:13) and Xiaoli Li (17th, 4:47:29) finished within 44 seconds of each other, capping a full-spread F60-64 field that put 19 women across the Long Beach finish line.