SF Half Marathon F55-59: Empey Runs Away With It

• Susan Empey, 1:41:53 (7:46/mi): Won F55-59 by 2:45 over Jing Chen, climbing from 37th to 19th among women on the strength of the 17th-fastest women's split on the second half.
• Closest battle: Chen (2nd, 1:44:38) and Brenda Mejdell (3rd, 1:58:12) were separated by 13:34 — but Mejdell's 21st-fastest women's split on the final 12M→Finish stretch made her the strongest closer in the group.
• Fading from the front: Martina Steffen (4th, 1:58:55) started aggressively — entering the women's field at 99th — but drifted steadily back to 203rd by the finish, a stark contrast to Empey's relentless forward march.
• International field: Finishers hailed from Zapopan, Guaymallén, and Bishop's Stortford alongside runners from across the U.S., making F55-59 one of the more geographically diverse groups on the course.

Susan Empey, 58, from Mercer Island, WA, was never seriously threatened. She crossed in 1:41:53 at a 7:46/mi clip — a full 2:45 ahead of runner-up Jing Chen — and spent the back half of the race doing exactly what the best runners do in San Francisco's notorious wind and rolling terrain: moving forward. Her gender place improved from 37th at the opening checkpoint all the way to 19th at the line, and her 17th-fastest women's split on the second half confirmed that her finishing kick, not just her early pace, won this race.

Chen, 58, of Cupertino, ran a measured 1:44:38 (7:59/mi) for a clear second place, posting the 20th-fastest women's split on the 8M–9.6M stretch to work her way up from 57th among women to 32nd by the finish. Third went to Brenda Mejdell of Terrebonne, OR, in 1:58:12 — and while she sat deep in the women's field for much of the afternoon, her 21st-fastest women's split on the 12M-to-finish segment was the best late surge in the group.

The contrast between Mejdell's patient build and Steffen's aggressive start told the real tactical story of the race. Steffen (4th, 1:58:55) opened fast enough to sit 99th among women through the early miles, but faded all the way to 203rd — finishing just 43 seconds behind Mejdell despite that early investment. Sally Piao rounded out the top five in 1:59:41, while the next five finishers — Wenli Bai through Karen Ulrich — were packed between 2:00:30 and 2:04:27, making for a competitive mid-pack across a field of 100 finishers in F55-59.