Women's 8K: Benedettini surges to the line in Virginia Beach

• Anna Benedettini won the women's race in 27:34 (5:33/mi), posting the fastest women's split on the 4M→Finish stretch to seal it.
• Amanda Tyndall finished 2nd in 28:15 (5:41/mi), running the 2nd-fastest women's closing split — 41 seconds back.
• Isabella Strumske claimed 3rd in 29:58 (6:02/mi) — at just 11 years old, running 8K at a 6:02/mi average.
• All three women ran their fastest relative split in the final stretch, making the 4M→Finish the defining segment of the race.

The women's race at the 2025 Shamrock 8K came down to who could close. Through four miles, Benedettini (Kailua, HI), Tyndall (Erie, CO), and Strumske (Toano, VA) held their positions steady — 5th, 6th, and 7th among women, respectively — with no change in the order between them. The race was being run, but it hadn't yet been decided.

Then came the final stretch. Benedettini shifted gears and posted the fastest women's closing split of the day, moving from 5th to 1st among women to win in 27:34. Tyndall answered with the 2nd-fastest closing split, finishing in 28:15 — a strong push that confirmed her place on the podium but couldn't close a 41-second gap. The order that emerged in those final miles was the order at the line.

The most remarkable story belongs to 11-year-old Isabella Strumske of Toano, VA, who ran the entire 8K at a 6:02/mi average to finish 3rd in 29:58. She also posted the 3rd-fastest women's closing split — meaning she held her form all the way through the finish. On a warm, humid Virginia Beach morning, that's a performance that stands entirely on its own numbers.