NB40-44: Odom Surges Late to Claim the Top Spot

• Jen Odom, 3:26:53 (7:53/mi) — won the NB40-44 race, moving from 2nd to 1st among women in the final miles.
• Fastest women's split on the Garmin Hill Challenge→14.95 Miles segment — Odom's decisive surge came right there.
• Krunal Patel, 3:54:20 (8:56/mi) — finished 2nd in NB40-44, holding 3rd among women wire-to-wire.
• 27:27 separates the two finishers — a comfortable margin that belies the real drama: Odom's late charge through the women's field.

The NB40-44 field was small but delivered a genuine storyline. Jen Odom of San Francisco spent the bulk of the race sitting in 2nd among the women, patient and consistent through the fog-tinged streets of the city. Then, on the Garmin Hill Challenge segment through 14.95 miles, she unleashed the fastest women's split in the entire field on that stretch — and it was exactly the move she needed. By the next checkpoint she had climbed to 1st among women, and she never looked back.

Odom crossed in 3:26:53, averaging 7:53 per mile over 26.2 demanding San Francisco miles — a pace that held up even as the course threw its signature hills at the field. That late surge wasn't just a tactical win; it was the fastest women's effort on one of the race's most punishing segments, a testament to how well she managed her effort through the first half of the race.

Krunal Patel of Danville ran a steady, measured race from start to finish, sitting 3rd among women at every single checkpoint and never wavering from that position. His 3:54:20 finish at 8:56/mi earned him 2nd in NB40-44. He also posted the 2nd-fastest women's split on the 14.95 Miles→18 Miles segment — a strong stretch that showed real strength in the back half of the course, even as Odom had already made her decisive move ahead.