Shamrock'n 5K F65-69: Wendy Sones Leon Pulls Away for a Sharp Win

• Wendy Sones Leon took the F65-69 title in 27:32 at an 8:52/mi clip — nearly 20 seconds clear of runner-up Bonita Malone (27:51, 8:58/mi).
• The podium gap was real: 3rd-place Lori Lutes finished in 31:31 (10:09/mi), a full four minutes behind the top two.
• A tight cluster formed in the 32–34 minute range: Nancy Lee 4th in 32:45, Kathryn Donovan 5th in 33:34 — just 49 seconds separating them.
• 51 women completed the F65-69 race, with the top 20 ranging from 27:32 to 50:00.

Wendy Sones Leon, 68, set the pace from the front and never let up. Her 8:52/mi average was the sharpest in the F65-69 field on a cool, clear St. Patrick's Day weekend morning in West Sacramento — 54°F with a light breeze, about as good as race conditions get. Elk Grove's Bonita Malone, 65, was the only one who came close, crossing in 27:51 at 8:58/mi. That's a genuine battle at the top, with Malone running only six seconds per mile slower — but in a 5K, 19 seconds is a decisive margin, and Leon had it well in hand.

The race for third belonged to Sacramento's Lori Lutes, 66, who clocked 31:31 to lock up the final podium spot with a comfortable cushion. Behind her, Nancy Lee (32:45) and Kathryn Donovan (33:34) ran a quiet duel through the 32- and 33-minute range, separated by less than a minute. Cecelia Sanders (35:10) and Leilani Vlach (35:20) staged their own close finish just outside the top five, with only ten seconds between them at the line.

The field spread wide from there, with Susan Jenkins (36:00, 8th) and Carolyn Meredith Simpson (36:53, 9th) rounding out the sub-37-minute runners before a noticeable gap to the 40-minute cluster — Maggie Hodge (40:45, 10th), Andrea Schurer (40:49, 11th), and Ofelia Underhill (41:06, 12th) all finishing within 21 seconds of each other. Esterlyn Murray closed out the listed field in 50:00 flat. Across all 51 finishers, this was a deep, determined group of women who showed up and ran their race on a fine March morning.