Napa Valley 5K — F65-69: Laberge Leads Wire to Wire

• Jeanne Laberge (age 69) won the F65-69 race in 28:41 at a 9:14/mi pace — the fastest in the field by nearly a minute.
• Teresa Ganze (age 65) pushed hardest, finishing 2nd in 29:39 (9:33/mi) — just 58 seconds off the win.
• Carlene Nakagawa rounded out the podium in 38:05, more than eight minutes clear of 4th place.
• Eleven women finished, spanning nearly 30 minutes from first to last across a chilly 42°F morning in Napa.

Jeanne Laberge, at 69 the oldest competitor in the F65-69 field, delivered the sharpest performance of the day. Her 28:41 finish at 9:14/mi wasn't just a win — it was a statement, putting nearly a full minute between herself and the rest of the field before anyone else had found their stride.

Teresa Ganze made it a genuine contest at the front. The Napa local ran 29:39 at 9:33/mi, and those 58 seconds represented the closest anyone came to Laberge all morning. It's a pace that would have won many age-group races outright, and Ganze can leave Napa knowing she pushed the leader hard. Carlene Nakagawa of Sunnyvale claimed 3rd in 38:05, a solid gap back from the top two but a comfortable eight-and-a-half minutes clear of 4th-place Nancy Ferris (42:33, 13:42/mi).

The back half of the field spread out across a wide range of efforts. Donna Curtice (5th, 46:52), Beverly Strom (6th, 47:42), and Judy Castro (7th, 48:37) ran within two minutes of each other in the mid-to-upper 15s per mile, forming a loose cluster through the finish. Cynthia Goodale crossed 8th in 50:33, followed by Donna Blevins (9th, 54:59), Aurelia Schroeder (10th, 57:05), and Lori-Ann Vanderwoude, who closed out the field in 11th at 58:38. Every one of them finished a 5K on a cold March morning in wine country — and Laberge made sure the F65-69 race had a worthy headliner.