SF Marathon 5K — F65-69: Spicola dominates in the fog

• Christine Spicola, 68, wins in 35:58 — nearly 3 minutes clear of the field at 11:35/mi.
• Rong Fu (38:56) and Maria Casimiro (39:41) claim 2nd and 3rd, separated by just 45 seconds.
• Julia Toscano (40:41) and Micaela Weiss (41:33) battle closely for 4th and 5th, with Ying Chen (41:39) just six seconds further back in 6th.
• All 17 finishers completed the course through 56°F, 95% humidity, and a stiff 14 mph wind off the Bay.

Christine Spicola of Rancho Cucamonga made the F65-69 race her own from the start. Her 35:58 finish at 11:35/mi wasn't just a win — it was a statement, landing nearly three full minutes ahead of the next finisher in a 17-woman field. At 68, she was the second-oldest in the field and still the fastest by a comfortable margin. On a blustery, humid San Francisco morning, that gap is earned, not given.

Behind Spicola, the real drama played out in a tight cluster. Rong Fu, 65, of San Bruno crossed in 38:56 to claim 2nd, with Maria Casimiro of E Palo Alto finishing 45 seconds later in 39:41 for 3rd. Then came a three-way squeeze: Julia Toscano (40:41), Micaela Weiss (41:33), and Ying Chen (41:39) all finished within 58 seconds of each other across 4th, 5th, and 6th. Weiss made the trip from Brooklyn; Chen ran on home turf in Palo Alto — and she nearly caught her.

The back half of the field brought its own stories. Suzanne Murphy, a San Francisco local, finished 7th in 43:26, and Mei-Fen Wang (44:10) rounded out the top eight. Julie Sorci of Bastrop, TX completed the course in 45:57 in 9th, while Atsuko Jenks (49:07) and Karen Bobo (50:47) crossed 10th and 11th. Lanny Chen of Mountain View closed out the field in 1:03:58 — every one of these 17 women finishing a 5K in the teeth of a Bay Area wind and near-saturation humidity deserves that noted.