IZZO DOMINATES IN ENJOYABLE WOMEN’S RUN
By David Monti, @d9monti
(c) 2026 Race Results Weekly, all rights reserved, used with permission.
ALBANY, NY (May 30) – Katie Izzo (adidas/Golden Peaks Track Club) took a convincing victory in the 48th Delightful Run for Women 5-K on an unseasonably cold and windy morning here in New York State’s capital. Izzo, 29, pulled away after the first mile at Washington Park and was never seriously challenged. He clocked 15:37 to win by 26 seconds.
“It’s really good to have an idea of what you want to happen before the race,” Izzo told Race Results Weekly. “I said I was going to try to win, and I’m proud that I did what I said I was going to do.”
On a revised course where the long climb at the start (and the long descent at the finish) were shortened, Izzo and the veteran Stephanie Bruce (Tracksmith/Stamata) picked up the pace. While the race flattened out in the first kilometer, Izzo, Bruce, Caroline Garrett (Hansons-Brooks), Emily Bush (Providence College), Cleo Boyd (Attached) and Anne-Marie Given (Hansons-Brooks) were together before turning left onto Washington Park. Izzo and Bruce hit 5:15 with Boyd, Garrett and Busch within two seconds. The given had already dropped from the pace.
Izzo, who was second at the USATF Cross Country Championships last December, loves to roll up hills, and he used that skill to his advantage today. He sped up the first landing and put daylight between himself and Bruce. Everything was going according to plan.
“At first I was debating whether to retire, but I want to race my best,” Izzo said. “I think staying more relaxed at the start (and) with about a mile to go, I would hit it if I felt good. It just felt like the right time to go, and I’m glad I did.”
Through the park, Izzo picked up the pace. Despite the hills, he covered the second mile in a tasty 4:57. Even though he got a few looks behind him, he knew victory was in the bag.
“I was just kind of focused on the lead car,” Izzo explained. “I didn’t want to go the wrong way or anything. So it wasn’t that hard to focus. Training for longer distances makes a 5-K feel short. It’s always nice when a race goes fast and you feel good about it.”
Izzo didn’t give up, splitting the third mile in 4:55 before sprinting to the finish line near West Capitol Park. She won $3,000 in prize money and said she loves the atmosphere of this classic, all-women’s race that was established in 1979. As he exited Washington Park, runners cheered him on as he crossed in the opposite direction.
“It’s the best,” Izzo said. “That was my favorite part when I was coming in and everyone was cheering. You just feel really empowered and it puts everything right. We’re all here doing something difficult together.”
Bruce, 42, raced to the finish line alone when Izzo pulled away. A 2:27 marathoner who revels in vibration, he kept his eyes up and made sure Boyd, Garrett and Busch didn’t get the better of him.
“I was thinking about all the solos I’ve done in Flagstaff,” Bruce said of the middle stretch of the race. “No one is going to earn your seats or your time. You just have to keep pushing.”
Bruce was a clear second in 16:03. He won the masters title by over a minute and a half and earned a total of $3,900 in prize money ($2,500 for second overall, $1,000 for first age master and $400 for second age master). He was clearly delighted with his race and said he will return to the marathon in the fall, bypassing the distance in the spring to address some gut health issues.
“I feel like I’ve done a lot in my career pushing myself,” said Bruce, who is coming off a 1:12:28 half marathon May 3 in Pittsburgh. “The 5-K is another level of that.”
There was a good battle for third, with Boyd, a Canadian who lives in Charlottesville, Va., edging Garrett by less than a second (both women clocked 16:17). Boyd earned $2,000 in prize money and Garrett earned $1,500. Bush finished fifth in 16:19 (her mother Dana, 47, ran 18:56) and Given (née Blaine) in 16:34.
Today’s race had good depth. According to gun time, 19 of the 1,857 women who finished the race broke 18 minutes, with the top age-rated finisher in 18:59 by Fiona Bailey, 58, of New York (93.68%). Two 83-year-olds finished the race: Lady Toni of Warrensburg, New York, who ran 39:36 (clear), and Carolyn Polycarpus of Albany, who clocked 54:31.
Izzo, who said her next event will be the 10,000m at the USATF Outdoor Track and Field Championships in New York in late July, is coached by husband and wife Terence Mahon and Jen Rhines in Flagstaff, Ariz. open and master athlete. His best time was 15:54 in 1998. Today, Izzo surpassed that figure by 17 seconds.
“Well, I have super boots and bicarbs,” Izzo said, bursting into laughter.
