Shamrock 8K: Sam Vest owns the W25-29 field

• Solo winner: Sam Vest, 27, of Norfolk, finished in 1:07:46 (13:38/mi) — the only finisher in the W25-29 age group.
• Consistent placement: Held 4th among women from the 2-mile mark all the way to the finish.
• Strong middle stretch: Posted the 4th-fastest women's split on the 2M→4M segment.

Sam Vest came to Virginia Beach on a mild mid-March morning — 62°F, light wind, a touch of humidity — and made the W25-29 age group her own from start to finish. With no one else in the group to chase or be chased by, Vest ran her own race against the broader women's field, and she did it with notable steadiness.

Her 1:07:46 over the 8K course works out to a 13:38-per-mile average, and what stands out is how little drama there was in her positioning: she sat 4th among the women at the 2-mile checkpoint, at 4 miles, and at the finish line. No fading, no surging — just a locked-in effort held clean through the whole race.

The one moment where she separated herself from that steady narrative came in the middle miles. On the 2M-to-4M segment, Vest ran the 4th-fastest split among all women in the field — a sign that while her overall pace was measured, she had genuine pop when it mattered most.

With the W25-29 title secured by default, the real measure of Vest's day is how she stacked up in the larger women's race — and a finish 4th among women tells a story worth noting on its own.