San Francisco 5K 2024: Thevenot Tops the F45-49 Field

• Noemie Thevenot won the F45-49 race in 27:53 (8:58/mi), finishing nearly 40 seconds clear of the field.
• Lydia Lacy ran 28:30 to claim 2nd, with Ling Liu (29:31) rounding out the podium in 3rd.
• Places 4 and 5 were a genuine battle: Tripti Mandal (4th, 30:01) and Monika Dutt (5th, 30:07) finished just 6 seconds apart.
• 54 women finished in the F45-49 race, with the top 20 spanning a range of roughly 8 minutes.

Noemie Thevenot, racing from Collonges au Mont d'Or, France, set the tone from the gun and never let up. Her 8:58/mi average was the fastest pace in the F45-49 field, and her 27:53 finish gave her a comfortable 37-second cushion over second place — a decisive margin on a 5K course in San Francisco's cool, overcast morning conditions.

Lydia Lacy of San Jose gave chase and earned 2nd in 28:30, running a solid 9:10/mi. Ling Liu of San Mateo rounded out the podium in 29:31 (9:30/mi), holding off a tight mid-pack chase. Behind her, Tripti Mandal (4th, 30:01, 9:40/mi) and Monika Dutt (5th, 30:07, 9:42/mi) were locked in a near-photo-finish battle for the final top-5 spot, separated by just six seconds across 3.1 miles.

The racing didn't stop there. Alise Ferranti (6th, 30:31), Sarah Drew (7th, 30:53), Carly Clemence (8th, 31:00), and Julie Johns-Cole (9th, 31:04) formed a tight cluster through the 30-to-31-minute range, with just 33 seconds covering four athletes. Yunjia Chen (10th, 32:04) and Sabine Preil (11th, 32:23) led the next wave, while the field spread out steadily through Euna Kwon in 20th at 35:50 — and 34 more finishers completing the 54-strong F45-49 race.