Two Cities Marathon 5K — F25-29: Grieser Takes the Win in a Race Within a Race

• Gabrielle Grieser won the F25-29 age group in 28:20 (9:07/mi), finishing 13 seconds ahead of runner-up Katie Amendt.
• The podium was settled quickly: all three podium finishers — Grieser, Amendt, and Jessica Castillo — finished within 93 seconds of each other, with the rest of the top 5 spread across an additional two minutes.
• Tightest battle of the day: Monica Galvan Valencia (5th, 31:57) and Rayni Damasco (6th, 32:00) were separated by just three seconds across 3.1 miles.
• 60 women finished in the F25-29 age group, with the top 20 ranging from 28:20 to 36:47.

Gabrielle Grieser of Fresno ran a clean, controlled 5K at 9:07 per mile to claim the F25-29 title on a warm November morning — 74°F and clear in Fresno, conditions that make every extra second feel earned. Her margin over Katie Amendt of Clovis was 13 seconds, a gap that sounds modest but in a 5K represents a meaningful stretch of real estate. Amendt's 28:33 at 9:11/mi was a strong effort in its own right; she simply ran into someone who had a better day.

Jessica Castillo of Dinuba rounded out the podium in 29:53, finishing a full 80 seconds back from Amendt — which tells you the race for 1st and 2nd was its own separate contest up front, while Castillo ran alone in third. Behind the podium, Kayliana Houston (4th, 31:05) and Monica Galvan Valencia (5th, 31:57) kept things honest in the chase pack, with Rayni Damasco lurking just three seconds behind Valencia at 32:00 — the closest finish of the entire top 20.

From there, the field fanned out steadily through the 30s, with seven runners clustered between 32:46 and 33:53 — a tight band of competition for spots 7 through 11. The remaining 40 finishers beyond the listed top 20 fill out a field that clearly brought genuine depth to the F25-29 age group in Fresno this year.