SF Marathon 5K — NB30-34: Foster Claims the Win in a Three-Person Showdown

• Eli Foster took the NB30-34 title in 37:34, averaging 12:05/mi across the 5K.
• Cassandra Ramirez finished 2nd in 43:08 (13:53/mi), holding off Heaven Haile by 1:46.
• Haile rounded out the podium in 44:54 (14:27/mi), making it an all-San Francisco Bay Area top three.

San Francisco's signature cool, damp morning — 57°F and 85% humidity under overcast skies — set the stage for the NB30-34 field, a tight three-person contest that played out across the city's iconic streets. Eli Foster, 31, ran the most decisive race of the group, finishing in 37:34 at 12:05/mi to win by a commanding margin of 5:34 over second place.

Behind him, Cassandra Ramirez and Heaven Haile waged the race's closest battle. Ramirez, 30, crossed in 43:08 at 13:53/mi to claim second, running a noticeably brisker pace than Haile's 14:27/mi. That difference in effort told the story — Haile, also 30 and making the short trip from Oakland, finished in 44:54 but couldn't quite close the gap Ramirez had built, coming up 1:46 short of the runner-up spot.

With all three finishers hailing from the Bay Area — Foster and Ramirez from San Francisco itself, Haile from just across the bay in Oakland — the NB30-34 podium was as local as it gets at this hometown race.