Shamrock 8K Women's 25–29: Benedettini Runs Away with It

• Anna Benedettini won the F25-29 age group in 27:34 — a 5:33/mi average that also made her the fastest women's split holder on the 2M→4M stretch.
• 5:21 gap separates Benedettini from runner-up Lora Ontl (32:55), the largest margin between any two consecutive podium finishers.
• Ontl, Kristine Shaughnessy, and Samantha DeCapua held their women's field places lock-step from start to finish — 7th, 13th, and 16th among women, respectively, never wavering.
• Places 18–20 finished within two seconds of each other: Riley Lambert, Cassandra Young, and Sarah Becker all clocked 41:24–41:26.

Anna Benedettini, the 26-year-old from Kailua, HI, didn't just win the F25-29 age group — she dominated it. Her 27:34 finish at a 5:33/mi clip put her first among women from the opening miles and she never relinquished that spot. The decisive blow came on the 2M–4M stretch, where she posted the fastest women's split in the field on that segment, pulling further clear of a chase pack that never had an answer.

Lora Ontl of Norfolk, VA claimed second in 32:55 (6:37/mi), a comfortable margin ahead of Malvern's Kristine Shaughnessy (35:11, 7:05/mi) and Arlington's Samantha DeCapua (35:44, 7:11/mi). What's striking about the top four is how stable the race was behind Benedettini — Ontl sat 7th among women, Shaughnessy 13th, and DeCapua 16th, and each held those exact spots from the 2-mile mark to the finish line. No drama, no late surges — just clean, consistent execution.

The most compressed action in the top 20 came near the back of it. Hollis Williamson (36:48) and Jamie Curry (37:12) rounded out the top six, followed by Jacque Law (37:38) — three runners within 50 seconds. Then, at positions 18 through 20, Lambert, Young, and Becker essentially raced to a near-identical finish, separated by just two seconds across the trio. In a 430-woman field, those are the moments that remind you how fiercely the middle of the pack is contested.