Shamrock Marathon F35-39: Pett Storms to Victory in 3:04:47

• Laura Pett (1st, 3:04:47, 7:03/mi) climbed from 7th to 3rd among women by the 15K mark — posting the 3rd-fastest women's split on that 10K→15K stretch — and held 3rd in the women's field all the way to the finish line.
• Finola Prendergast (2nd, 3:23:15) ran the 13th-fastest women's split on the 20K→Half segment, a surge that helped her claw back ground and ultimately finish nearly 19 minutes clear of the F35-39 field.
• Megan Tschirhart-Bell (3rd, 3:26:58) and Kassie Sly (4th, 3:27:35) were separated by just 37 seconds at the finish, with Tschirhart-Bell posting the 26th-fastest women's split on the 35K→25.2M stretch to hold off Sly's earlier momentum.
• Jennifer Zukas (5th, 3:28:26) was the race's biggest mover in this field — entering the women's standings at 84th and finishing 36th — powered by the 12th-fastest women's split on the 35K→25.2M segment.

Laura Pett, a 35-year-old from Fairview, TN, was never in doubt at the front of the F35-39 field. She moved from 7th among women at the 5K to 6th by 10K, then made her defining move — posting the 3rd-fastest women's split on the 10K→15K segment to jump all the way to 3rd in the women's field. She stayed locked there for the final 27 kilometers, crossing in 3:04:47 at a 7:03/mi clip. In a field of 117 finishers, that margin over runner-up Prendergast — more than 18 minutes — was commanding.

Prendergast (3:23:15, 7:45/mi) ran an intelligent, progressive race, drifting as low as 25th among women before her 13th-fastest 20K→Half split helped her climb back to 21st by the midpoint and ultimately 21st at the finish — good enough for a clear second in F35-39. Tschirhart-Bell and Sly waged the closest battle of the day, separated by 37 seconds after 26.2 miles, with Tschirhart-Bell's strong late push on the 35K→25.2M segment proving just enough to secure the final podium spot.

The most dramatic journey through the field belonged to Jennifer Zukas (3:28:26). She started deep in the women's pack — 84th at the 5K — and ran steadily forward all day, eventually posting the 12th-fastest women's split in the closing 35K→25.2M stretch to finish 36th among women and 5th in F35-39. Behind the top five, Michelle Maguire (6th, 3:29:22) and Elizabeth Mumaw (7th, 3:30:02) rounded out a tight cluster, with just 40 seconds separating them on a humid, breezy Virginia Beach morning.