F35-39 Half Marathon: Leong leads wire-to-wire for Oakland gold

• Amy Leong wins in 1:34:23 (7:12/mi), the fastest finish in the F35-39 field of 359 and the 11th-fastest women's time on the day.
• Anna Flores Remick closed hard with the 14th-fastest women's second-half split to finish 2nd in 1:36:43 — 2:20 back of Leong.
• Cristina Paola Marban Toxqui owned the 12th-fastest women's first-half split and held on for 3rd in 1:37:58, just 1:15 behind Remick.
• Stefanie Hughes ran the 41st-fastest women's split on the early 1.40M–2.13M segment but faded from 13th among women at that mark to 36th by the finish, crossing 5th in 1:41:59.

Amy Leong of Oakland set the tone early, sitting 9th among women through the opening miles and never straying far from that position. She saved her best for last: her 10.65M-to-finish split was the 8th-fastest women's closing kick on the day, and she crossed in 1:34:23 at a 7:12/mi clip — a full 2:20 clear of the runner-up. On a cool, overcast San Francisco morning with 87% humidity, that kind of sustained pace over the city's hills is no small thing.

The battle for 2nd and 3rd was the race's most compelling subplot. Anna Flores Remick, all the way from Shreveport, Louisiana, was 20th among women at the halfway point but steadily climbed — reaching 15th by mile 10 and ultimately 14th overall among women at the line. Her 1:36:43 finish was earned with the 14th-fastest women's second-half split in the field. Cristina Paola Marban Toxqui of Mexico went the other direction: she posted the 12th-fastest women's first-half split to surge to 13th among women at mid-race, but faded to 19th in the women's field by the finish, still securing 3rd in F35-39 in 1:37:58. Remick's closing speed caught Toxqui's early aggression by 1:15.

Elise O'Neil of San Francisco was a steady climber, moving from 34th among women at the gun to 23rd by the finish, landing 4th in 1:39:00. Behind her, the gap widened: Erica Cahill took 6th in 1:45:06, followed by a tight cluster from 7th through 12th where Belem Venegas Mendoza (1:47:06), Kristina Byrd (1:47:26), Celeste DePaola (1:47:43), and Ninnia Lescano (1:48:37) all finished within 91 seconds of each other. Tanya Brinich and Jennifer Spatz both clocked 1:48:53 to share the display time for 11th and 12th, with Brinich edging ahead by the narrowest of margins on the timing mats.