Christopher Bell of Mississippi and Laura Max of Iowa claimed comfortable wins Saturday morning in the Rocket City Marathon 10K.
The race officially kicked off the RCM weekend at the Von Braun Center, with 292 runners finishing to earn shiny, cool medals. Runners wound through Old Town, Five Points, back into downtown, through Big Spring Park and into the VBC South Hall to the finish line. Runners from at least 27 states, England and Russia were among the field.
Bell, 20, of Starkville, cruised to the win in 39:12, a 6:19-per-mile pace. David Bains, 41, of Huntsville, was second in 39:50, and Oscar Martinez, 44, of Knoxville, was third in 40:18.
Max, 52, of Iowa City, crossed in 47:05 to win the women’s division and narrowly miss a T-10 finish. She was 12th overall. Jeanne Taylor, 49, of Huntsville, was second (16th) in 47:27 and won the Women’s Masters honor. Ruthie Sloan, 34, of Sturgis, Mich., was third (17th) in 47:28.
Drew Bell, 58, of Madison, took the Men’s Masters title with a time of 45:26. He was sixth overall.
Of the 292 finishers, 180 were women (average pace, 12 minutes) and 112 men (9:42 average pace). Check out some other cool stats here from the event. The 10K took place before the Mural 5K and kids’ events.
The RCM is put on by the Huntsville Track Club and presented by the Huntsville Sports Commission.
To see all the results of the Rocket City Marathon 10K, click here.
