F60-64 Half Marathon: Rennard Runs Away With It in Napa

• Sherry Rennard won the F60-64 race in 1:40:53 (7:42/mi), more than three and a half minutes clear of second place.
• Anne Clemons finished 2nd in 1:44:22 (7:58/mi), closing the final 6.9 miles with the 110th-fastest women's split to gain six places among women on the back half.
• Laurie Kuestner (4th, 1:52:19) and Debbie Sims (5th, 1:52:46) both surged late — Kuestner posted the 154th-fastest women's split on the back half, Sims the 175th — to finish just 27 seconds apart after both cracking the top 200 among women.
• Twelve women in this field broke 2:10, reflecting a deep and competitive F60-64 showing across 43 finishers.

In 37°F morning air along the Napa Valley course, Sherry Rennard of Seal Beach set the tone early and never let up. Running a 7:42/mi average, she crossed in 1:40:53 — a commanding margin that left no doubt at the front. Her 75th-fastest women's split on the 6.9M-to-finish stretch showed she was still moving well when it counted, holding her position solidly among the full women's field.

Anne Clemons of Austin was the clearest challenger, finishing 2nd in 1:44:22 at 7:58/mi. The gap to Rennard was 3:29 — real daylight — but Clemons made the second half her own, moving from 113th to 107th among women with the 110th-fastest women's split on that closing stretch. Behind her, Maryann Nelson of Napa took 3rd in 1:48:40 (8:17/mi), though she faded on the back half, slipping from 134th to 157th among women with the 186th-fastest women's closing split.

The most dramatic late-race movers were Kuestner and Sims. Kuestner (Wdm) came from 245th among women at the midpoint to finish 191st, posting the 154th-fastest women's closing split on her way to 4th in 1:52:19. Sims (Salinas) made a similar charge — 240th down to 197th — finishing 5th in 1:52:46. Twenty-seven seconds separated them at the line after both ran themselves back into contention over the final miles. Rena Lantz of Gold River rounded out the top six in 1:53:05 (8:38/mi), just 19 seconds behind Sims.