Kayla Knapp seizes the women's lead and doesn't look back in F25-29

• Knapp wins in 1:14:32 (5:41/mi) — the fastest women's split on the 6.9M-to-finish stretch sealed the deal.
• 2:55 separates 1st from 2nd: Ally Markovich (1:17:27) ran the 3rd-fastest women's closing split but couldn't close the gap Knapp had built.
• Annie Marggraff climbs: starting 7th among women, she moved up to 5th with the 5th-fastest women's closing split, finishing 3rd in F25-29 at 1:20:07.
• A tight mid-pack battle: Dana Giordano (6th, 1:24:14) and Catie Camron (7th, 1:24:23) were separated by just nine seconds at the line.

Kayla Knapp, 28, of Sunnyvale, didn't have the lead heading into the back half — she was sitting 2nd among women at the 6.9-mile mark. What happened next was decisive: she posted the fastest women's closing split of the entire race, surging past the leader and crossing in 1:14:32 at a 5:41/mi clip. By the finish, no one in the women's field was close.

Ally Markovich of Berkeley ran a composed, consistent race, holding 3rd among women through the first half and finishing 3rd-fastest on the closing stretch — good enough for 2nd in F25-29 at 1:17:27 (5:54/mi). The 2:55 gap to Knapp tells the story of a front-runner who simply pulled away. Annie Marggraff of San Francisco made the most compelling move of the chase pack, climbing from 7th among women at the midpoint to 5th by the finish with the 5th-fastest closing split, clocking 1:20:07 (6:07/mi) for 3rd in F25-29.

Alie Fordyce (4th, 1:22:32) was another mover, advancing from 15th among women to 12th on the strength of the 8th-fastest women's closing split. Just behind her, Amanda Alvarado (5th, 1:23:17) had been 13th among women at 6.9 miles but faded slightly to 15th by the finish — Fordyce's stronger close was the difference between them. Further back, the 231-runner F25-29 field filled in steadily, with Frances Lodge (10th, 1:28:52) and Rae Brookshire (11th, 1:30:19) rounding out a deep top ten that required sub-6:53/mi pace to crack.