F70-74: Suzanne Koonce Leads a Four-Woman Charge Through Wine Country

• Suzanne Koonce, 74, took the F70-74 title in 4:27:16 (10:12/mi), the fastest of four finishers in the group.
• Chandra Ramamoorthy claimed 2nd in 4:44:26, finishing 17:10 behind Koonce — a clear gap, but well clear of 3rd.
• Sue Saputo ran 3rd in 5:20:54, posting the strongest split of the 13.1M–16.2M segment among the four, where she held her best position of the race.
• Gloria English rounded out the field in 4th with a 5:48:58 finish (13:19/mi), nearly 1:22 behind Saputo.

Four women in their seventies toed the line on the Silverado Trail's net-downhill point-to-point course, and Suzanne Koonce — at 74, the oldest in the group — made sure there was no drama at the top. Her 4:27:16 at a 10:12/mi clip was a commanding performance, and her 16.2M–20M segment ranked 372nd among all women in the field, a strong mid-to-late stretch that helped her close out the race with authority. She moved as high as 372nd among women in the broader field through that segment, a telling sign of how well she held her pace when others were fading.

Chandra Ramamoorthy, 70, of Los Altos, was the steadiest pursuer, finishing 2nd in 4:44:26 (10:51/mi). Her 443rd-fastest women's split on the 16.2M–20M stretch mirrored Koonce's strength in that same window, and she maintained a consistent position in the women's field throughout, hovering in the 506th–559th range at checkpoints. The 17:10 gap to Koonce was too large to bridge, but her composure over the final miles was evident.

Sue Saputo, 71, of Beaumont, had her best segment between 13.1M and 16.2M — the stretch where she climbed to 630th among women, her peak position in the race. She finished 3rd in 5:20:54 (12:14/mi), a solid 36-minute cushion over 4th place. Gloria English, 70, of Murphys, brought it home in 5:48:58 (13:19/mi) to complete the F70-74 field. Running a sub-6-hour marathon at 70 on a cool, humid March morning in Napa is no small thing, and all four finishers earned their place on this course.