Masters Women's Half Marathon: Lujan Storms Through the Second Half to Take the Crown

• Jessica Lujan, 1:26:24 (6:35/mi): Won the Masters Women's race outright, surging from well outside the top women's positions at the first checkpoint all the way to 1st among women by the halfway mark — then held on to finish 3rd among all women.
• Bridget Dawes, 1:34:03: The steadiest runner in the top five, holding a position between 10th and 16th among women across every checkpoint, and posting the 9th-fastest women's split on the second half to lock up 3rd in Masters Women.
• Dorilyn Talania, 1:36:26: The biggest closer of the race — her 10.65M-to-finish split ranked 3rd fastest among all women, propelling her from 30th among women at one point to 4th in Masters Women at the line.
• Hortencia Jimenez, 1:43:56: At 61, the oldest athlete in the listed top 20, finishing 13th in a Masters Women field of 746.

Jessica Lujan's win was built on a breathtaking second-half charge. She entered the race checking in at a middling position among women at the first split, but by the halfway point she had already seized the lead among women. She didn't just survive that bold move — she backed it up, posting the 24th-fastest women's second-half split across the entire women's field to cross in 1:26:24 at a 6:35/mi clip. That was enough to win Masters Women and finish 3rd among all women on the day.

Ileana Villalba made a similarly aggressive move. She also started outside the top women's positions, then rocketed to 3rd among women by halfway. She couldn't quite sustain Lujan's pace — her 7:02/mi average tells a slightly slower second-half story — but 1:32:12 was more than enough to claim 2nd in Masters Women, nearly six minutes clear of 3rd.

Behind them, Dawes and Talania waged the most compelling duel for the final podium spot. Dawes ran the more consistent race, barely flickering from her position all day, while Talania was the field's most dramatic closer — clawing back from 30th among women to finish just 1:21 behind Dawes. Kayla Kielar (1:37:33) and Qi Lu (1:38:19) rounded out a tight cluster from 4th through 6th, separated by less than two minutes across three athletes.

The 60°F overcast conditions over San Francisco's demanding course made fast times hard-earned. Lujan's 1:26:24 stands as the clear standard-setter here — a masterclass in patience, positioning, and a second half that left the field behind.