Napa Valley Marathon 5K — F60-64: Jacobson Runs Away With It

• Gwen Jacobson won in 23:22 at a 7:31/mi pace — more than four minutes clear of the field.
• Lorelei Hanson took 2nd in 27:36 (8:53/mi), the only other finisher under 35 minutes.
• Places 3–7 were decided in a tight 47-second window — from Joan Kalustian's 35:24 to Kerry Carey's 36:42.
• 19 women finished the F60-64 race, from Napa locals to runners traveling from as far as Gurnee, Illinois and Fort Drum, New York.

On a cold Napa morning — 36°F at the gun, with barely a breath of wind — Gwen Jacobson, 63, from Rochester, made the F60-64 race her own from the outset. Her 23:22 and 7:31/mi pace were in a different gear entirely from the rest of the field, and the four-minute-plus margin over second place speaks for itself. This was a dominant, wire-to-wire statement.

Lorelei Hanson of Oronoco was the clear runner-up, crossing in 27:36 at 8:53/mi — a noticeably stronger pace than everyone behind her and the only other finisher to break 35 minutes. Then came a genuine scrum for the rest of the podium: Joan Kalustian (Martinez) claimed 3rd in 35:24, just 34 seconds ahead of Jennifer Moore (Sacramento) in 35:58, with Kamaleswary Vimalesvaran (Gurnee) 4th in 36:11 — a mere 13 seconds back. Nancy Tennyson (Napa) finished 6th in 36:26 and Kerry Carey (San Ramon) 7th in 36:42, meaning five women were separated by less than a minute in that mid-pack battle.

Behind them, Staci Freeman (8th, 39:47) and Linda Terry (9th, 40:52) ran solid back-half races, with Mary Jo Ramey rounding out the top ten in 42:03. The field spread out through the final third, with Teresa Ballete of Tracy completing the course in 1:10:56 — a reminder that 19 women of all speeds showed up and got it done on a chilly Sunday in Napa.