San Francisco Half Marathon — F45-49: Sheila Leong Surges Late to Take the Crown

• Sheila Leong (Millbrae, CA) wins F45-49 in 1:44:07 (7:57/mi), posting the 16th-fastest women's split on the 8M–9.6M segment to power her decisive late move.
• Qi Lu (Milpitas, CA) finishes 2nd in 1:44:49 — just 42 seconds back — with the 32nd-fastest women's split on that same stretch.
• Lili Hui (Salt Lake City, UT) claims 3rd in 1:51:14, finishing 7:07 behind Leong but a clear 1:47 ahead of 4th.
• 183 women finished in F45-49, with the top two separated by less than a minute and the top three all clearing 1:52.

The story of this race was written in the miles between 8 and 9.6. Sheila Leong had spent much of the morning working her way through the women's field — sitting 64th among women at the first checkpoint, she ground steadily forward through the fog and 14 mph wind off the Bay. But it was that 8M–9.6M stretch where she truly detonated, posting the 16th-fastest women's split on that segment in the entire field and vaulting from 44th among women to 39th. She didn't stop there — by the finish she had climbed all the way to 27th among women, crossing in 1:44:07 at a 7:57/mi clip to claim the F45-49 title.

Qi Lu ran a remarkably parallel race. Also 47, also out of the South Bay, she tracked through the checkpoints in close proximity to Leong — sitting 53rd among women early and finishing 35th. On that key 8M–9.6M segment she posted the 32nd-fastest women's split, faster than most but a notch behind Leong's surge. The result: a 42-second gap at the line, 1:44:49 to 1:44:07. Two athletes, nearly identical finishing times, but Leong's stronger push through the middle miles made the difference.

Lili Hui of Salt Lake City ran a composed, consistent race to lock up 3rd in 1:51:14 (8:29/mi), climbing from 155th among women at the opening checkpoint all the way to 89th by the finish — one of the bigger positional climbs in the field. Lynn Veblen (New York, NY) took 4th in 1:53:01, with Tara Fox (Frederick, MD) rounding out the top five in 1:54:08 after a strong 68th-fastest women's split on the 10M–10.5M segment helped her hold position through the final miles.