Santa Rosa 5K: Broz dominates the F50-59 field in the mist

• Jodi Broz, 57, wins in 24:17 — a 7:49/mi pace that put 1:32 between her and the rest of the F50-59 field.
• Tight podium battle: Teresa Gonzalez (25:49) and Yaneyra Pellascini (25:51) finished just 2 seconds apart, with Lotta Aalto only 3 more seconds back in 4th at 25:54.
• Places 7 and 8 separated by nothing visible: Christina Dicker and Yvette Lewis both finished in 28:17 at 9:06/mi, though Dicker holds 7th by the timing detail.
• 84 women finished the F50-59 race on a cool, misty Santa Rosa morning.

Under gray skies and a light mist at 60°F, Jodi Broz of Stevenson Ranch ran a race that was never really in doubt. Her 7:49/mi pace was a full 30 seconds per mile faster than anyone else in the F50-59 field, and her winning margin of 1:32 over runner-up Teresa Gonzalez tells the story cleanly: Broz was simply in a different gear.

Behind her, the race for the podium was anything but settled. Gonzalez, 50, from Morgan Hill, crossed in 25:49 at 8:19/mi, with Pellascini, 51 and racing on home turf in Santa Rosa, just two seconds later at 25:51. San Rafael's Lotta Aalto, also 50, pushed hard enough to finish 4th in 25:54 — just 5 seconds off the podium. Riya Young of San Francisco rounded out the top five in 26:03, keeping the pressure on that entire cluster throughout.

Ann Schelert held 6th in 26:34, and then a notable gap opened before Christina Dicker and Yvette Lewis arrived together in 28:17 — their times identical to the second, with Dicker edging Lewis by the slimmest of margins to claim 7th. Lan Dai Janakes (28:38) and Kim Theunissen (28:42) completed the top ten, separated by just four seconds.

The field of 84 spread out across a wide range of efforts from there, with Trissy Riggs leading the next wave in 30:15 and the top 20 all finishing within 32:16. For a misty August morning in Sonoma County, the F50-59 group brought genuine competition from front to back.