Nina Sillivant and Josh Whitehead won the Ditto Landing 10K titles Sunday morning under cloudy skies on one of the fastest courses in Huntsville.
With parts of Ditto Landing, the Aldridge Creek Greenway and Tennessee River Greenway in use, 411 finishers toodled along the creek and river under cloudy skies. The rain held off, fortunately, although the southeast breezes kicked up a bit and felt good. Temps were in the mid 50s. The course is flat and fast, offering one of the best chances in the area for a personal best time.
Whitehead, 45, defended his Ditto Landing 10K title with a sizzling time of 34:48, a pace of about 5:37 per mile. He cruised comfortably to notch another win for the year, his latest coming two weeks ago at the Dam Bridge 10K in Florence. He cruised to the Boston or Bust half-marathon in September in 1:11. Whitehead is gearing up to defend his Rocket City Marathon title on Dec. 10 in Huntsville.
Peter Toland, 25, was second in 35:38. The next three spots were finish-line battles, with 15-year-old Jack Shattuck taking third in 35:48. Noah Spellman, 16, was fourth in 35:52, and Kevin Betts, 46, was fifth in 36 minutes. The top 12 runners, all male, finished in 40 minutes or less.
Nina Sillivant, 29, finished 17th and took the women’s title, crossing the line in 40:48. She also has had a solid year, finishing second in the Huntsville Half recently to go with a handful of 5K wins and other top finishes.
Sage Betts, 21, was second (26th) in 42:28 and Mandy Leonardi was third (32nd) in 42:57.
The event was put on by the Huntsville Track Club, with support from RunningLane Events and Fleet Feet. Additional support came from Marco’s Pizza and UNITS Moving & Portable Storage. Proceeds from the race benefit the Harold & Louise Tinsley Scholarship Fund administered by the track club.
See all of the Ditto Landing 10K results here.
Spencer Cox was on the scene for photos, which you can see and buy here.
Hey, Don’t Go Away!
After checking out the results above, be sure to visit our Holiday 5K Roundup for more fun events in the TVO area!
