San Francisco Half Marathon: Eileen Mannix Wins a Razor-Tight F65-69 Battle

• Mannix takes it in 2:09:46 (9:54/mi), with 2nd and 3rd separated by just 52 seconds across a 30-woman field.
• Top three within 1:04: Kathy Hruby ran 2:10:38 and Karen Mahakian 2:10:50 — the closest podium clustering in the field.
• Béatrice Porcher's surge: After sitting deep in the women's field through the early miles, the 66-year-old from Saint-Sébastien-sur-Loire climbed steadily to finish 5th in 2:19:45 (10:40/mi).
• Wide field, wide spread: 4th-place Theresa Burst finished in 2:16:06, opening a gap of nearly six minutes back to 6th-place Joanna Deredita's 2:28:09.

Eileen Mannix of Yardley, PA made the most decisive move of the F65-69 race when it mattered most. Her gender place tracking tells the story: she moved from 834th among women at one checkpoint all the way up to 564th and ultimately 552nd by the finish — a sustained climb through the field that reflects real momentum in the second half. Running 9:54 per mile through San Francisco's 59°F, breezy conditions, the 65-year-old crossed in 2:09:46 to claim the win.

Kathy Hruby (Castle Rock, CO) gave Mannix the closest possible chase, finishing in 2:10:38 — just 52 seconds back. Hruby's own trajectory was more measured; her gender place hovered in a tighter band throughout, reflecting a steadier, more consistent effort. Karen Mahakian of Frisco, CO rounded out the podium in 2:10:50, only 12 seconds behind Hruby. Mahakian actually entered the race moving well — her gender place climbed from 626th to 547th in the early going — before settling into a controlled finish. Three women, three different paces and patterns, all landing within 64 seconds of each other.

Theresa Burst (Birmingham, AL) ran a disciplined 10:23/mi to finish 4th in 2:16:06, and her 705th-fastest women's split on the 10.5M–12M stretch shows she was still working hard deep into the race. Béatrice Porcher, the lone international finisher in the top five, put together one of the more interesting arcs: she was sitting as far back as 1,155th among women at one point before working her way up to 925th by the finish, crossing 5th in 2:19:45. From there, a six-minute gap separated the top five from 6th-place Joanna Deredita (2:28:09) and the rest of a 30-woman field that stretched all the way to Kimberly Burstein's 2:49:40 in 20th.