All five races in the Rocket City Marathon weekend are close to sellouts, with less than 100 spots remaining for the marathon, 10K and 5K.
Less than 60 spots remain for the marathon on Sunday, while the 10K has less than 30 and about 30ish remain for the 5K. Given that registration is open until the spots are filled, it’s likely that at least the 10K and 5K will be maxed.
The two half marathons are sold out. Race officials say about a third of the marathon field is returning runners. Runners from at least 45 states and six countries, many of them new, will arrive this week in Huntsville. The race provides an economic impact of more than $1 million to the area, according to the Huntsville Sports Commission.
Volunteers Needed
It takes more than 500 volunteers to put on the Rocket City Marathon, not to mention all of the area’s support personnel. That includes members of the Huntsville Police Department, HEMSI and probably a few others.
Permits must be secured, race routes planned for protection, medical personnel in place, contingency plans, all the things. The course must be certified, too. That’s all away from the Von Braun Center, where even more planning takes place. It’s a year-round ordeal with a race director, committees and input from the Huntsville Track Club, among others.
Volunteers are needed for various tasks, including course sentry duty during the races. If your club or organization needs civic hours or charitable hours, this could be a win-win. The weather isn’t going to be terrible this weekend, either, so don’t worry about that.
Go here to find out more about volunteering and signing up.
Weather Outlook
WAFF-TV 48 meterologist Eric Burke’s forecast for the weekend likely will change, but as of midday Monday here is his outlook:
Colder and drier air will come rushing in by daybreak Wednesday behind a cold front. Winds look quite breezy for Wednesday with gusts between 20 to 30 miles per hour. Skies are mostly sunny Wednesday and Thursday with much cooler high temperatures in the low to middle 40s.
A slight warmup is forecast for Friday and the weekend as highs rebound into the 50s. Light showers are possible Saturday and Sunday.
Slam Series No. 2
The Rocket City Marathon is the second of four events in the Huntsville Slam, a challenging test for runners on the road and trails.
The Slam is about 120 miles in 71 days, or about every 17-18 days. It consists of the Dizzy 50s 50K, Rocket City Marathon, Recover from the Holidays 50K and Mountain Mist 50K. The marathon is a road event. Dizzy and Mist are trail ultras at Monte Sano State Park. Dizzy is three 10ish-mile loops, while Mist is a loop course around the mountain. Recover, on New Year’s Eve at John Hunt Park, is 10 3ish-mile loops on the grass cross country course.
Defending men’s champ Dylan Glass of Gurley leads the standings after winning the Dizzy 50s. He and Perla Nunez of Huntsville won the 2024 titles, the first for each.
New Swag This Year
Runners will find new race swag at the RCM store in the expo and packet pickups, with a new logo design incorporated into the medals.
Marathon Medals are the largest of the races, a blingy head-thumper. Half-marathon medals are smaller, as are the ones for the 10K and 5K runs. The design incorporates the city skyline and Big Spring, an Apollo 5 rocket, and red-blue glittery letters. They’re pretty doggone cool. Whoever designed them deserves a Zesto dog and Monkeynaut.
Want a larger medal? Do the next race in the lineup. Everyone may get a medal but anyone doing 26.2 miles deserves that big one.
The 10K and 5K are on Dec. 14, and the marathon and front/back halves are on Dec. 15. The front half-marathon is more hilly and ends at Campus 805. The flatter back half-marathon goes through the Space & Rocket Center and Botanical Garden, and ends in the VBC South Hall.
Race Cutoff Times
The marathon has a strict 1 p.m. cutoff. Period. It’s in the rules here, and that’s how it is.
“If you require 6-7 hours to complete the marathon, you must be an “Early Starter” (which will require a special bib and adherence to a short list of extra rules). You will be asked to leave the course, or surrender your participant bib, if you fall behind the sweepers. Runners who do not reach the FRONT Half Finish Line by 10:05am will not be allowed to continue.”
The “early starter” option is at 6 a.m., an hour before the regular 7 a.m. start. Nothing wrong with the early start. It’s helpful for those who need it, and great that it’s available. If you need it, take advantage of it.
10K and 5K events also have similar requirements. Cutoff is two hours for the 10K and 1 hour for the 5K. Both of those times are walker-friendly, as long as you’re gettin’ after it. Strolling along like a day at the soiree won’t cut the mustard. Put some pep in your step and get moving.
If you walk but want to start running or getting faster, go to John Hunt Park and start there. The track and grass are wonderful. It’s a good place to build a foundation to improve your speed or start running for next year’s marathon. Or sign up for a local running training group and have a target race for spring or next year’s marathon.
Cutoffs are in place mainly for safety and because the city can’t commit resources to close or strangle roads all day. It takes a lot of manpower for HPD to assist with the events. If you’re running and see an officer, give them a thanks or thumbs up.
The RCM is put on by the Huntsville Track Club and presented by the Huntsville Sports Commission.
