SF Marathon 10K — Stephanie Huntwork Edges Out a Sharp F45-49 Battle

• Huntwork wins in 47:58 (7:43/mi), topping a 121-woman F45-49 field by 19 seconds over runner-up Diana Sankovic (48:17, 7:46/mi).
• Podium sweep under 50:30: Leah Ruiz claimed 3rd in 50:13 at 8:05/mi, more than two minutes clear of 4th.
• Top-10 compressed into under seven minutes: from Huntwork's 47:58 to Christine Huo's 8th-place 54:11, the spread across eight finishers was just over six minutes.
• Local flavor: five of the top 20 finishers listed San Francisco as their hometown, including 5th-place Joyce Young (52:01) and 17th-place Geraldine Passemard (1:00:01).

Stephanie Huntwork, 45, from Jackson Heights, NY, came to San Francisco and made her mark on a 121-woman field, crossing in 47:58 at a crisp 7:43/mi pace. The win wasn't handed to her — Diana Sankovic of Belvedere Tiburon, CA, pushed her every step of the way, finishing just 19 seconds back in 48:17 at 7:46/mi. Those are genuinely different paces across 6.2 miles, meaning Huntwork held enough of an edge throughout to keep Sankovic at bay to the line.

Third place went to Leah Ruiz of Pasadena, rounding out the podium in 50:13 — a solid 8:05/mi that left her more than two minutes ahead of 4th-place Hannah Giudicelli (51:38, 8:19/mi). Giudicelli, listed from Holloway, Matlock, added some international flavor to the podium chase, and she held off Joyce Young of San Francisco by just 23 seconds, with Young finishing 5th in 52:01.

The race's middle tier was where things got genuinely tight. Alva Leung (6th, 53:44) and Christine Meyer (7th, 53:50) were separated by just six seconds, and Christine Huo followed closely in 8th at 54:11. Then came a notable gap before Nicole Fein and Melody Chong arrived nearly together in 9th and 10th — both clocking 56:25 and 56:26 respectively, a one-second split that made for one of the closest back-to-back finishes of the day.

The field stretched deep into the 60-minute range, with 20 named finishers and 101 more behind them completing the course through San Francisco's overcast, mildly breezy morning. Huntwork's 47:58 stands as the definitive benchmark for this group in 2023.