Steady to the end Saturday morning, Josh Whitehead won his ninth Huntsville Half Marathon in record fashion as he eyes the Rocket City Marathon in five weeks.
Whitehead, 46, of Madison, set his 10th state age group record with the 1:13:16 finish. He broke the 29-year-old existing record by more than four minutes. Steve Rice of Huntsville set the mark — 1:17:35 — in November 1995.
Whitehead won Saturday morning by almost six minutes. He’s on a steady training routine in preparation for the Rocket City Marathon. The marathon, on Dec. 15, caps the RCM Weekend that includes a 5K, 10K and two half marathons. Whitehead was second last year to David Too of Tallahassee, after winning the RCM in 2022.
Saturday morning, he took off from the starting line at Hillwood Baptist Church and got into a groove. Runners make a short loopy start and then head through neighborhood streets before returning to the finish at the church. An uphill finish, by the way, in the final tenth of a mile.
“I looked at my watch after the first two miles and didn’t look again until the finish,” Whitehead said. “I just ran with a good effort and wanted to break the state age record. The record was 1:17 and change after the first couple miles, I was like, I’m on a good trajectory for it so let’s just lock in and keep going. I really enjoyed it. The weather was nice, could’ve been a little cooler and less humid, but it was a good morning. Lots of smiling faces out there on the course today, people cheering and being encouraging. I hope a lot of PRs are set today and that PR gong gets hammered.”
Top 5 Standings
Nathaniel Pierce, 38, of Huntsville, was second in 1:19, and Jude Seibert, 18, of Ardmore was third in 1:20:31.
Christian Schrandt, 36, of Madison, was fourth in 1:21:37. Mark Porter, 21, of Colorado Springs, Col., was fifth in 1:22:33.
The field had 339 official finishers from 10 states including Arizona, Texas, North Dakota and Maryland.
Melissa Miller, 33, of Huntsville, won the women’s title in 1:34:53. She was 19th overall.
Whitehead often is atop the standings of local races. He enjoys the half marathon, which has a nice route and typically is in November when temps are cooler. Along with this year’s title, he won in 2022, 2021 and 2021-15. He finished second in 2019 and 2009, both behind David Riddle of Cincinnati, and didn’t run in 2023. Brandon York won three straight from 2016-18.
These end-of-year races often are part of his training plan for the Rocket City Marathon. The Dam Bridge 10K in Florence on Nov. 16, for example, is a fun one he enjoys, especially because it’s close to his hometown of Rogersville. Whitehead appreciates each day to get outside, after being injured in a hit-and-run in 2021 while biking on Zierdt Road. The final push to RCM weekend, which typically includes the Huntsville Half and a couple of others, is on track.
“Today definitely was part of that, and I have 24 miles to do Sunday with some marathon pace in that,” he said. “I wanted to keep today’s pace pretty steady because I knew if I didn’t tomorrow’s long run wouldn’t go as well. I could’ve run a little harder today but I’m real happy with it. The marathon is my goal, yeah. That’s our signature event here, right? I’d like to be at least first Masters again, but you never know who’s going to show up for that race. It’s big, a good one, and people come in from all over. It’s our marquee event so you have be in it, right?”
he event is put on by the Huntsville Track Club. See all of the results from the Huntsville Half Marathon here.
PHOTOS: See all of the half marathon photos by Spencer Cox here.
