SF Marathon 5K: Howell Takes F40-44 in a Battle of the Bay

• Marilyn Howell wins in 24:19 (7:50/mi), edging Anagha Apte (24:36) by 17 seconds in a tight top-two finish.
• Sarah Fadamitan claims 3rd in 25:15 — a notable contrast to her 23:31 here in 2022, when she finished 8th among women overall.
• 4th and 5th separated by just 3 seconds: Junaline Gines (26:01) and Angelina Duarte (26:04) ran a near-identical finish time, though their efforts to get there produced that razor-thin gap.
• 93 women finished in F40-44, with the top 20 spanning just over 10 minutes from Howell's winning 24:19 to Claudia Sandoval's 34:48.

On a cool, damp San Francisco morning — 55°F, heavy humidity, and a 7 mph wind off the bay — Marilyn Howell of Kensington ran the sharpest race in the F40-44 field. Her 7:50/mi pace held firm through the finish line, and the 17-second margin over Anagha Apte of Oakland tells the story cleanly: Howell led, Apte pushed, and Howell answered. Apte's 24:36 at 7:55/mi was a strong effort in its own right — just not quite enough on the day.

Sarah Fadamitan of Chicago rounds out the podium in 25:15, but her story has an extra layer. Two years ago at this same race, she crossed in 23:31 — nearly two minutes faster — and placed 8th among all women. Sunday's 25:15 still earned her 3rd in F40-44, a testament to the depth of this field and the passage of time, but that 2022 benchmark is a real data point worth noting.

Just off the podium, the race delivered one of its most entertaining finishes: Junaline Gines (4th, 26:01) and Angelina Duarte (5th, 26:04) were separated by a mere three seconds after more than 3 miles of racing. Aya Eguchi rounded out the top six in 26:21, and Yuri Hosokuni took 7th in 27:08, before the field spread out more noticeably through Betsy Gran (8th, 28:33) and beyond.