F30-34: Austin Thompson-Spain Runs Down the Women's Field to Win

• Thompson-Spain wins in 3:08:52 (7:12/mi), moving from 15th among women at the half to 8th by the finish — the strongest sustained climb in the F30-34 group.
• Podium gap: Macdonald (3:11:49) finished 2:57 back; Flesch (3:16:57) another 5:08 behind that — the top three well clear of the rest.
• Closest battle of the day: Miller (3:17:41) and Keshishian (3:17:43) finished just two seconds apart for 4th and 5th in F30-34.
• Flesch's late charge: She entered the final stretch 23rd among women and finished 23rd — but that masks a massive surge; she posted the 14th-fastest women's split on the 35K-to-finish stretch, climbing from 43rd among women at the half to 24th by race's end.

Running 7:12 per mile through 71°F heat and a 17 mph coastal wind, Austin Thompson-Spain didn't just win the F30-34 group — she kept moving through the entire women's field. She crossed the half in 15th among women and never stopped climbing, reaching 8th by the finish line. That kind of sustained progression over 26.2 miles in those conditions is the story of the day.

Mikka Kei Macdonald ran a composed, measured race, sitting 16th–17th among women for most of the back half and finishing a steady 3:11:49 for 2nd in F30-34. Hannah Flesch took the opposite approach — patient through the first half (42nd among women at 25K), then unleashing one of the sharpest closing surges in the group, with the 14th-fastest women's split from 35K to the finish to claim 3rd in 3:16:57.

The fight for 4th played out in near-perfect parallel. Libby Miller and Sarah Keshishian ran within striking distance of each other for most of the race, and the finish confirmed it: Miller crossed in 3:17:41, Keshishian in 3:17:43 — two seconds separating them after more than three hours of racing. Miller had been the stronger early mover, posting the 21st-fastest women's split from 10K to 15K; Keshishian answered with the 19th-fastest women's split from 30K to 35K. Neither gave an inch, and the clock barely split them.