The 45th Annual San Francisco International Stand-Up Comedy Competition was a grueling month-long gauntlet not for the meek, the weak, anyone requiring sleep or owning a vehicle of questionable dependability.

Looking from the outside, it’s also not for a single mom running a small business who isn’t a spring chicken.

No matter. Chelsea Bearce, though admittedly quite beat, was never beaten. Well, not by many. Only two, actually, as the longtime Benician and former Vallejo resident placed third, taking home $1,500 and a new line on her resumé.

“I was surprised how much this competition meant to me,” Bearce said. “Was I excited to be in it? Absolutely. Nervous? For sure.”

While it may not have been one step for man and a giant leap for mankind, Bearce finishing in the rarified air as a female in the Top 3 of the competition was important, she said by phone Tuesday.

“People started hitting me up when I reached the semifinals, ‘You have to win this for women.’ I started seeing how many people were behind me,” Bearce said. “It really became obvious how much this meant to me.”

Oftentimes the host of her own produced stand-up shows or co-headlining shows with friend and former Vallejoan Myles Weber, Bearce said condensing her typically freestyle act to a concise 5 to 7 minutes for the first round was eye-opening.

“I learned a lot about myself as a competitor,” she said. “I learned how to take stress and take these overwhelming situations and fight and push forward.”

Ryan Goodcase of San Francisco emerged No. 1 when the panel of judges’ votes were tabulated after the final night on Sept. 26. James Hancock III out of San Diego was second, while San Francisco’s Orion Levine followed Bearce as the fourth-place finisher. Ian Levy of San Francisco was fifth.

“The fact Ryan won and is a dear friend of mine, I’m so happy for him,” Bearce said.

Third place? Something to be proud of, Bearce acknowledged.

“At 40, I was the oldest one in the finals. I was the only female, the only one with my own business and the only parent,” Bearce said. “I was juggling a lot on top of doing a show every night in a different city and county. It was taxing.”

As for all the above, it likely helped, Bearce said.

“I think I stood out because of that, because I was so vastly different from the other four competitors,” she said.

Marsha Warfield is the only woman to win the competition, capturing the title 42 years ago.

A handful of women have finished in the top five, including: Carrie Snow, fifth in 1982; Ellen DeGeneres, second in 1985; Karin Babbitt, fourth in 1990; Maria Falzone, third in 1992 and T. Marni Vos, fifth in 1992;  Maureen Langan third in the 34th annual event in 2009; Gina Stahl-Haven, second in 2019, and Pauline Yasuda, fourth in 2019.

Langan said earlier this week by phone that Bearce “has a strong and powerful voice and powerful stage presence and continues writing in that vein because it is personal and unique to her. And the personal is often universal and makes her stand out.”

Langan acknowledged Bearce’s potential.

“I will probably be opening for Chelsea in a year,” Langan said. ” And all I ask is for a cameo on her sitcom.”

Bearce said she was able to reach out to Warfield for insight, adding to the advice from Weber, who won the competition in 2015, Dave Nihill, 2018 winner, and Sammy Obeid, a 2010 finalist.

“I wanted to go into it with as much ammunition as I could,” Bearce said.

Obeid gave Bearce a nugget: Whatever city she performs in, get there early, learn something noteworthy about the city, and incorporate “one or two local jokes” into her act.

“That was really good advice,” Bearce said.

Warfield “sent me a really heartfelt message encouraging me to do my best and try and win this thing,” Bearce said. “She also told me that wherever the show was, to be kind to the staff.”

It was nip-and-tuck throughout the finals week. Bearce emerged on top two of the five nights, as did Goodcase. Hancock stayed in the running by finishing second most of the way. One night was decided by 100th of point, Bearce said.

“Competition comedy is so different than doing stand-up without any stakes,” Bearce said. “It’s such a different beast. You’re thinking about 800,000 things on stage looking like you’re trying to create this off the top of your head.”

The five finalists “became a little family,” Bearce said. “I see them all as little brothers. They put up a fight and did the work. They all kind of deserved it.”

It was challenging to shake off a disappointing night, she said.

“If I didn’t do well, I’m thinking about it for the next 14 hours,” she said.

While other comics shared driving from city to city, Bearce drove solo from her Benicia home in her 2018 Kia Soul. A 260-mile, 4-hour-plus trip to Arroyo Grande down south took its toll.

“That got to me,” she said. “If I drove all that way and placed last that night, it would have been really hard.”

She finished fourth. The next night in San Francisco — the last night of the finals — Bearce won, edging Goodcase and placing third overall.

“I don’t know the total mileage I drove for the month, but I got an oil change right before the competition and I needed another one when it was over,” Bearce said.

Sure, she said, “part of me wishes I won, but I got third place, which is great.”

Now Bearce can use the new credit in marketing not just her stand-up but the game-show, “Who Wrote This S#!T!” she created in New York City 11 years ago.

Streaming on Twitch, Facebook and YouTube, five comedians participate in each show, Mondays at 6 p.m.

Bearce takes the show on stage live Oct. 22 at the Stab! Comedy Theater in Sacramento, Oct. 23 at Badlands in Sacramento, and Oct. 24 at The Cellar in Benicia. For more, visit tslive.com.