Way Too Cool 10M: Ella Sanchez Owns the F1-19 Field

• Sole finisher and champion: Ella Sanchez, age 10, crossed in 2:31:06 at a 15:07/mi pace.
• Late push: Ella moved from 48th to 46th among women on the final HWY 49→Finish leg — posting the 43rd-fastest women's split on that closing stretch.
• 10 miles at age 10: Sanchez completed the full distance in 69°F heat, representing Sacramento on a demanding Cool, CA course.

There's only one name in the F1-19 age group, and it belongs to a 10-year-old from Sacramento: Ella Sanchez, who finished Way Too Cool in 2:31:06. At a pace of 15:07 per mile across 10 miles, she did something most kids her age wouldn't dream of attempting — and she finished it.

The race unfolded with a bit of movement in the women's field around Ella. She slipped from 43rd to 48th among women through the middle stretch, but rallied on the closing HWY 49→Finish segment, climbing back to 46th with the 43rd-fastest women's split on that leg. That's not a small thing — in a field of women who came to race, a 10-year-old posting a top-43 split on the final stretch is a genuine effort worth noting.

Sole champion of her age group, uncontested but hardly unimpressive, Ella Sanchez put her name on the board at Way Too Cool 2026. The only question for next year: who shows up to race her?