Women's 5K: Janzen surges from fifth to first with a blistering finish

• Reagan Janzen wins in 19:05 (6:09/mi), moving from 5th to 1st with the fastest women's closing split from 1.5M to the finish.
• Lisa Mueller, 19:07 — just two seconds back, also running 6:09/mi — posted the 2nd-fastest closing split in a race-long chase that came up a heartbeat short.
• Karin Coyne rockets from 11th to 3rd (20:25, 6:34/mi) with the 3rd-fastest closing split, capping a remarkable weekend: she also finished 4th in the women's 10K at Twin Cities Marathon Weekend.
• Keira Bell, age 11, crossed in 9th place at 21:29 (6:55/mi) — one of the most eye-catching results in a women's field of 1,127.

The headline story of the women's race was written in the final mile and a half. Reagan Janzen of Rochester was running in 5th at the 1.5-mile mark, but she unleashed the fastest closing split among all women to storm across the finish at Minnesota State Capitol in 19:05. Lisa Mueller of St. Paul was right on her heels, clocking 19:07 — same 6:09/mi average, same ferocious finish-line pace — but Janzen had just enough. The gap was two seconds in a race that clearly wasn't decided until the very end.

Mueller's 2nd-place effort (2nd-fastest closing split) and Karin Coyne's charge from 11th to 3rd (3rd-fastest closing split, 20:25) tell you where this race was won and lost: the back half. Laurel Ohm of Princeton, NJ similarly moved from 6th to 4th (20:36, 6:38/mi, 4th-fastest closing split), and Anna Miehe of Mineral Point, WI climbed from 13th to 5th (21:15, 6:50/mi) — five of the top five finishers all gained ground late. Coyne's performance carries extra weight given she also raced the Twin Cities 10K this weekend, finishing 4th among women there, making her podium here a genuine double.

Behind the top five, the racing stayed tight. Mary Thomas (6th, 21:18), Jill Ellenbecker (7th, 21:26), Rachael Stack (8th, 21:28), and Keira Bell (9th, 21:29) were separated by just three seconds across four places. Bell, at 11 years old, ran 6:55/mi to finish 9th in a 1,127-woman field — a number that speaks for itself. Further back, Madeline Alliegro, Allison Borgstrom, and Marissa Alliegro all crossed at 22:20, with timing settling their order at 15th, 16th, and 17th respectively.