Results/Photos

Date: Feb. 14, 2026 Participant: Stephanie Summers #17323 Race: 2026 Mesa Half Marathon Distance: 13.1 miles

Strong Start Melds into Steady Finish Stephanie Summers demonstrated a strong start in the 2026 Mesa Marathon Half Marathon, keeping an impressive pace of under 9 minutes per mile for the first three miles, with split times of 8:59, 8:51, and 8:47 minutes per mile respectively. Her initial positions were commendable, placing her in the top third within her division for those splits. However, from mile four onwards, her pace began to moderate, averaging between 9 to 11 minutes per mile. During the latter half, her pace settled, with split times around 10:00 to 12:20 minutes per mile. As a coach, examining the final performanceoverall time of 2:16:55 and an average pace of 10:27 minutes per mileindicates solid energy management and pacing. Focusing on maintaining early pace stamina could be beneficial for future races. Considering her previous 10K performance at 9:25 min/mile, revisiting pacing strategies might help align these efforts toward improved consistency in longer distances.