Women's Ultramarathon: Dueck dominates 52.4 miles through San Francisco

• Vanessa Dueck, 35, wins in 7:41:28 — posting the fastest women's split on the back half and going wire-to-wire at the front of the women's field.
• Ann Galvan edges Lisa Hughey for 2nd — 8:04:41 to 8:06:39, a gap of under two minutes after more than seven hours of racing, with Galvan catching Hughey by running the 3rd-fastest second-marathon split among the women to Hughey's 5th.
• Mimi Lam, 52, surges from 6th to 4th — posting the 2nd-fastest women's split on the second marathon to finish in 8:26:55, edging Shikha Pahwa by just 8 seconds.
• Justine Okeefe returns to the podium hunt — the Walnut Creek runner, who took 3rd here in 2023 in 10:07:56, finished 8th in 10:35:05 this year.

Vanessa Dueck of Milpitas held the lead from the opening miles and never relinquished it, crossing the finish line in 7:41:28 at an 8:48/mi average — covering 52.4 miles through San Francisco's fog-draped streets, twice over the Golden Gate Bridge, through Golden Gate Park, and along the Embarcadero. Her fastest women's split on the second marathon sealed a commanding wire-to-wire victory in one of the few urban ultramarathons in the United States.

The battle for 2nd and 3rd played out over the final miles in a genuine catch-up. Lisa Hughey of Los Alamos had held 2nd through the first marathon, but Ann Galvan — running the streets of her home city of San Francisco — ran the 3rd-fastest second-marathon split in the women's field to Hughey's 5th, closing the gap and finishing 8:04:41 to Hughey's 8:06:39. The margin: under two minutes after more than eight hours on course.

The most dramatic positional move of the day belonged to Mimi Lam, 52, of Vacaville. Running 6th through the first marathon, Lam unleashed the 2nd-fastest women's split on the second half to climb to 4th in 8:26:55 — just 8 seconds ahead of Shikha Pahwa (8:27:03), who slipped from 4th to 5th despite running the 4th-fastest back-half split herself. Lauren Korsnick, 22, of Davidsonville rounded out the top six in 8:43:34.

Justine Okeefe of Walnut Creek brought returning-runner context to the back of the field — she had stood on the podium here in 2023, finishing 3rd in 10:07:56. This time she crossed 8th in 10:35:05, still one of 14 women to complete the full 52.4-mile double. Ann Pham, 56, of Modesto was the final finisher in 12:29:06, closing out a women's field that ground through every mile of it.