San Francisco 5K: Lung-Hwa Chen Commands the F70-74 Field

• Lung-Hwa Chen (age 74, Milpitas) won the F70-74 race in 52:13 at a 16:48/mi pace — finishing 2:41 ahead of second place.
• Ethel Folger (age 73, San Jose) took second in 54:54, edging Ilda Montoya (age 70, Daly City) by just 27 seconds for the runner-up spot.
• Karen Queally (age 73, San Bruno) finished fourth in 1:00:21, while Esperanza De Guzman (age 74, Mission Hills) rounded out the five-woman field in 1:10:58.
• Five women toed the line in chilly, blustery conditions — 56°F, 14 mph winds, and 95% humidity — making every minute earned.

Lung-Hwa Chen didn't just win the F70-74 race — she won it decisively. The 74-year-old from Milpitas crossed in 52:13, running a 16:48/mi pace through the San Francisco streets to put nearly two and a half minutes between herself and the rest of the field. On a damp, wind-bitten morning, that kind of clear separation is a statement.

The real drama in the F70-74 field played out behind her. Ethel Folger of San Jose finished second in 54:54, but Ilda Montoya of Daly City was right on her heels at 55:21 — a 27-second gap across a 5K is genuinely tight, and Montoya, the youngest in the field at 70, couldn't quite close it down. Folger held on for the silver.

Karen Queally of San Bruno came home fourth in 1:00:21, and Esperanza De Guzman of Mission Hills completed the five-woman field in 1:10:58 — a finish that, in those conditions and at 74 years old, deserves its own acknowledgment. All five women finished what they started on a course that offered fog, wind, and no favors.