Napa Valley 5K: Blackburn Blazes to F35-39 Title

• Ashley Blackburn (Indianapolis, IN) wins in 18:59 at a 6:07/mi clip — more than a minute clear of the field.
• Kelsey Mchugh runs 20:10 (6:29/mi) for 2nd; Rose Huang completes the podium in 21:00 (6:46/mi).
• Jessica Vargas finishes 5th in 23:40 — three seconds faster than her 10th-place women's finish here in 2025 (23:43), and this time she lands on the F35-39 leaderboard in style.
• 65 women finished in this group, with the field spread from 18:59 to well past 30 minutes.

Ashley Blackburn made the trip from Indianapolis count. Her 18:59 — a 6:07/mi average on the out-and-back course through Napa Valley — was commanding from the gun, and the 1:11 gap she put between herself and 2nd place tells the whole story. In a field of 65, nobody came close to answering.

Kelsey Mchugh (Phoenix, AZ) and Rose Huang (San Francisco, CA) ran a clean battle for the podium. Mchugh's 20:10 held off Huang's 21:00 by 50 seconds, with Mchugh running a noticeably sharper 6:29/mi to Huang's 6:46/mi. Loraine Baraki (San Antonio, TX) crossed 4th in 22:29, and then Jessica Vargas of Cave Creek, AZ added a genuine storyline in 5th: her 23:40 shaved three seconds off the 23:43 she ran on this same course in 2025, and where that effort placed her 10th among all women a year ago, this time it was good enough for 5th in F35-39.

Katherine Nelson (Sausalito, CA) rounded out the top six in 24:05, before a gap opened to Patty Lee's 26:30 in 7th. The back half of the top 20 was tightly bunched — Bernadette Stapleton (29:17) and Alex Curtis (29:19) were separated by just two seconds for 12th and 13th — with the field continuing deep into the 30-minute range. Organized by the Kiwanis Club of Greater Napa with all proceeds returning to the local community, this race clearly draws a competitive and committed crowd, and the F35-39 group delivered on both counts.