Shamrock'n Half Marathon F65-69: Holly Rouillard Johnson Runs Away With It

• Holly Rouillard Johnson won the F65-69 group in 1:54:17 (8:43/mi), finishing nearly 9 minutes clear of 2nd place.
• Rosie Gilbert-Ahrens (2nd, 2:03:22) and Janice Sirois (3rd, 2:04:55) were separated by just 1 minute 33 seconds — the tightest battle on the podium.
• A cluster of three women — Cecile Hong (9th, 2:38:15), Diane Tolle (10th, 2:38:29), and Kelly Chpple (11th, 2:38:30) — finished within 15 seconds of each other.
• 23 women finished in the F65-69 group across a spread of conditions: 55°F, clear skies, and a 10 mph wind.

Holly Rouillard Johnson, making the trip from Edwards, CO, was the dominant force in the F65-69 group from start to finish. Her 8:43/mi pace held firm through the back half of the race — her women's split from the halfway mark to Mile 11 ranked 185th among all women — and her gender place climbed steadily from 249th at the first checkpoint all the way to 189th by Mile 11. That kind of consistent forward movement through a large women's field tells the story of a runner who never let up.

Behind her, Rosie Gilbert-Ahrens and Janice Sirois — both age 67 and 65 respectively — waged a close battle for the podium. Gilbert-Ahrens held the stronger early position, moving up through the women's field to 227th by the halfway mark, but faded in the second half, sliding back to 379th by the finish at 2:03:22 (9:25/mi). Sirois, running a steadier 9:32/mi, closed 2nd in 2:04:55 — a catch-up story where Sirois made up time in the closing miles while Gilbert-Ahrens faded, though Gilbert-Ahrens still held 2nd at the line. Robin Diamond (4th, 2:17:44) and Derraugh Dawson (5th, 2:19:57) rounded out the top five within about two and a half minutes of each other.

The most remarkable cluster of the day came deep in the field: Cecile Hong (9th), Diane Tolle (10th), and Kelly Chpple (11th) crossed within 15 seconds across a 13-minute-plus pace — a genuine three-way finish that must have made for some spirited company in those final miles. Lynn Marshall (6th, 2:20:37) and Cyndi Litzko (7th, 2:21:08) were likewise separated by just 31 seconds, keeping the middle of the F65-69 field tightly packed on a crisp Sacramento morning.