Date: Oct. 5, 2025 Participant: Melissa Sasaki #17605 Race: 2025 Portland Half Marathon Distance: 13.1 miles

Consistent Start with Mid-Race Challenges Melissa Sasaki’s performance in the 2025 Portland Marathon Half Marathon demonstrated an impressive consistency during the initial stages, maintaining a pace of 11:43 min/mile over the first two miles. The first three miles show strong pacing with only a slight drop to an 11:50 min/mile for the third mile. She hit a brief stride with a 11:16 min/mile split on the fourth mile, indicating potential for faster sustained timings. Mid-race, the pace took a hit especially on the seventh mile with a 15:05 min/mile, indicating an opportunity to improve endurance in these later segments. While Melissa finished with an overall time of 3:04:20 and a pace of 14:04 min/mile, maintaining stronger pacing up to Mile 5 with an 11:39 min/mile could provide a foundation to sustain quicker paces throughout. As she finished 534th in her division, future focus on mid-race endurance could enhance her ranking and overall performance.