Josh Whitehead did his best to hide his emotions Sunday at the finish line of the 46th Rocket City Marathon.
His three children were with family for the weekend, and his wife was at Campus 805 after running the Front Half-Marathon. For the last two weeks he’s battled a serious cold and sinus issues. His doctor gave him the green light to run and a Z-pack on Friday, but it wasn’t entirely smooth sailing. In June 2020 he lay in a broken heap on Zierdt Road, the victim of a yet-unsolved hit-and-run that broke three vertebrae, separated and smashed his right shoulder and collapsed a lung.
So you could understand, maybe … well, no. You can’t understand. Whitehead has been a local fixture in the running scene for more than 10 years. He began running at the behest of his wife, picking it up as a fun event. He realized he was good at it: fast, steady, strong, determined. He won numerous events. He won Cotton Row and the Rocket City Marathon, regional events large and small.
Almost Gone
More than two years ago it almost was taken away from him.
That’s why, Sunday morning, just two hours and 33 minutes after the command to start, Whitehead bottled his emotions when he won. He’d just set a state record for his age group — one of many he’s set this year. His marathon training had paid off. The RCM was the icing on the cake that included the Ditto Landing 10K and Huntsville Half Marathon last month, Hurley 10K, uber-hilly Pill Hill 10K in summer and a third-place finish in the legendary Cotton Row 10K.
“I won this in 2013 and that year was probably my best year of running, you know, overall, but it was a long time ago,” Whitehead said. “So yeah, it’s … I think it’s just people need to, you know, know that everybody’s got challenges and problems ahead, a cold, injuries, other things. There’s all sorts of things that can set you back. So I’d say don’t give up. You know, keep on trying.
“I’ll say one thing, you know, coming out of that bike wreck, it really gives you a perspective on things. Before that, it was like ‘It’s morning and have a workout planned and then this and that’ and you don’t think about it. And now, every morning, I’m like, I’m thankful I can get out and run. I’ve been a lot more consistent with my training, you know, getting those track workouts in and the tempo runs and the long runs. It’s just, I mean, it leads you to appreciate, you know, how much of a blessing it is to be able to get out in the mornings and go for a run. So I’m trying to enjoy every day. And I’m just really thankful to be here.”
On the Course
The RCM course changed a couple of years ago to wind through old Huntsville and then out to the U.S. Space & Rocket Center, by the Huntsville Botanical Gardens and back to the Von Braun Center. A glance at the route shows high points at Maple Hill Cemetery at about 4.5 miles and the turn onto Holmes Avenue about 10 miles later. It’s a course that rocks and rolls, giving runners a bit of speed and climb.
Whitehead said he wasn’t sure he was leading but knew he was running well. His 5.51 per-mile pace was six seconds better than runner-up Chris Lemon of Dayton, Ohio. Lemon crossed in 2:35:59, with Hisato Suetsugu of Peachtree City, Ga., third in 2:37:20. Keith Steinbrecher of New Market was fourth in 2:42:45 and Ryan Crandall of Madison, Miss., was fifth in 2:44:43.
“I’ll be honest, I didn’t know I was in the lead because the half marathoners and marathoners went together,” Whitehead said. “So there were a couple of people in front of me. I didn’t know if they were doing the full or the half until we got to the halfway mark. And I was like, Oh, my goodness, I’m in the lead.
“I’m just glad it didn’t pour rain; the way the forecast looked, it was like we’re gonna get rained on the whole time. And we just got a little drizzle, so it wasn’t bad at all. Back in 2013 I was a young whippersnapper, and I’m 44 now so to win today is unbelievable. Especially after kind of what I’ve been through the last couple of years. I didn’t know if I’d walk again, much less run.”
Training Buildup
Whitehead said he’d been training regularly and better for this event, working in the Hurley, Ditto Landing and Huntsville Half events as buildup. And then the nagging head cold hit hard. It created some doubt last week. So when he lined up Sunday morning, “I was like, just shut up and go do it.”
“I just I went out and gave what I had,” he said. “It’s just it’s a bit of a surprise. You know, I knew my fitness was good coming into this but it’s like you got to have everything come together: your fitness, the weather, the competition. You never know who’s going to show up and we had some great competition. Mr. Lemon, who finished in second, is a fantastic runner. I think he might have gone easy on me today. It’s been a fantastic year.”
Whitehead easily qualified for the 2023 Boston Marathon, along with several other major marathons. He competed in Boston once before and said he’d like to do it again, but will make the decision later.
See all the results of the 2022 Rocket City Marathon here.
All of the marathon weekend races and activites are a Huntsville Track Club event. Sponsors include Huntsville Sports Commission, The City of Huntsville, Fleet Feet, U.S. Space & Rocket Center, Huntsville Botanical Garden, SportsMed, Mission DRiven Research, Progress Bank, Publix, Ray Pearman Lincoln, Therapy South, Costco, Straight to Ale, Hops ‘n Guac, Marco’s Pizza, Panera Bread, Nomadic Roots Nutrition, Axient, McCluskey Construction, Mobile Communications America and Avion.
PHOTO: Josh Whitehead of Huntsville runs en route to winning the 2022 Rocket City Marathon in Huntsville. He also won in 2013. Photo by Will Crisp / Special to TVO
FOR MORE PHOTOS – Visit the TVO gallery and check out the marathon and miscellaneous images from Sunday’s action.
