Four state age records were set and Josh Whitehead of Madison added another win to his ledger Saturday morning at the 49th Rocket Run 10-Miler in Mooresville.
Grattan O’Neill, Jay Hillis, Emma Hardman and Kathy Harper smashed Alabama age records with their fast times. The race was held on a USATF-certified route starting and ending at the Old Brick Church on the square in Mooresville. The church and site date to before the official founding of Alabama in 1819. Several hundred runners braved chilly, breezy conditions and sunny skies.
Photos: See the TVO Rocket Run 10-Miler photo gallery here
Age records set:
— O’Neill, 16, Huntsville, 56:19, (previous, 1:02:49)
— Hillis, 63, Florence, 1:06:19, (1:07:23)
— Hardman, 26, Huntsville, 1:00:54 (1:03:25)
— Harper, 72, Athens, 1:32:26 (1:34:44)
Hardman broke a record set in 2011, also in Mooresville, by Caitlin Morris of Madison. Harper knocked off a record set in 2018 by Marian Lofton of Mobile. This is Harper’s third state record; she also holds those for ages 70 and 71.
Saturday’s 10-mile record was the fifth for O’Neill, who also has Alabama records for ages 7, 8, 10 and 12. His newest record was set in 2002 by Chris White of Daphne. Hillis claimed the 63-year-old record that had stood since 2005 and was held by David Jeffrey of Semmes. O’Neill and Hillis are among several Huntsville Track Club or area runners with Alabama age records.
Rocket Run for Whitehead
The Rocket Run title is the fourth for Whitehead this year, putting him halfway to his 2022 total that included the Rocket City Marathon in December.
Saturday morning, he bolted out comfortably and clipped along at a 5:20 pace for pretty much the entire run. He finished in 53:19, two minutes slower than his state age record time of 51:42.2 set in January. Whitehead, 44, holds the overall state 10-mile record with a time of 50:42, set in 2014 when he was 35 years old.
Hunter Nails, 24, of Brownsboro, was second Saturday morning in 55:41. Daniel Sillivant, 36, of Huntsville, was third in 56:19, and O’Neill was fourth in 56:19.4. That trio pretty much stayed together the whole time.
Jordan Carrington, 26, of Birmingham, was fifth in 58:44. Clay Rice, 28, of Birmingham, was sixth in 58:51.
Hardman was seventh overall and the women’s champ, in 1:00:55. Angel Mobley, 27, of Huntsville, was second (12th) in 1:05:24, and Julia Donovan, 38, of Huntsville, was third (19th) in 1:08:31.
See all the results of the Huntsville Track Club’s 49th Rocket Run 10-Miler here.
Photos: See the TVO photo gallery from the Rocket Run 10-Miler here.
MAIN PHOTO: Emma Hardman of Huntsville heads into the third mile of the 49th Rocket Run 10-Miler on Saturday in Mooresville. She finished seventh and set an Alabama age-group record with her time of 1:00:55. (Photo: Alan Clemons/TVO)
