NB20-29: Cassie Lee Leads a Mountain View 1-2

• Cassie Lee took the NB20-29 win in 1:59:01 (9:05/mi), posting the 3rd-fastest split on the 10.54M→11.05M segment among the women.
• Richard Li finished 2nd in 2:07:28 (9:43/mi), running the 7th-fastest split on the 1.81M→5.34M segment among the women.
• Cristian Valenzuela rounded out the three-finisher field in 2:38:24 (12:05/mi), completing the course in just over two and a half hours.

Cassie Lee owned the NB20-29 field from start to finish, crossing in 1:59:01 at a 9:05/mi clip. Her strongest moment came late in the race, where she put up the 3rd-fastest women's split on the 10.54M→11.05M stretch — a sharp effort when many runners are beginning to feel the miles. She entered the women's field at 7th and worked her way to 6th by the second checkpoint, holding that position all the way to the tape.

Richard Li, also from Mountain View, gave Lee a fellow NB20-29 finisher to race against, completing the half in 2:07:28. His 9:43/mi pace was notably slower than Lee's, but he made his mark early — posting the 7th-fastest women's split on the 1.81M→5.34M segment, a strong opening stretch that helped him climb from 9th to 7th in the women's field by mid-race. The Mountain View duo finishing 1-2 is a tidy story in itself.

Cristian Valenzuela, 24, from Kingsburg, CA, completed the San Francisco Half in 2:38:24 — nearly 31 minutes behind Li and running at a 12:05/mi average. He also posted the 12th-fastest women's split on the 1.81M→5.34M segment early on, then settled into his own rhythm across the remaining miles. Three finishers, three distinct paces, and one clear winner: Lee's sub-two-hour effort stands as the defining performance of the NB20-29 field.