Rocket City Marathon

The 35th annual Rocket City Marathon was December 10, 2011 in downtown Huntsville. Many say that this is one of the best marathons in the country. Dink and Suzanne Taylor really really know exactly what is important to runners. There is a very high volunteer to runner ratio. There is enthusiastic crowd support. The course is very fast. And, beginning in 2010, the Rocket City Marathon offers pace teams sponsored by Nike and Fleet Feet in Huntsville. This is really a top notch race and it is an honor to have such a high quality event in our area. The weather was very good except for a stiff breeze from the north, which was in the face of the runners during the second half of the race.

Before I get to the results, I would like mention a very scary side story to the marathon. A race volunteer was seriously injured when he was struck by a car. He was crossing the street to begin working the aid station at about the 13.2 mile mark on Bailey Cove Road. When he stepped from the curb, he was struck and very seriously injured. The latest information I have is that he is in critical condition. Read more here. Our prayers are with him and his family that he will make a full recovery. The police, EMTs, and the race directors handled this emergency very well.

The overall winner was Daniel Kirwa of Searcy, AR by way of Kenya in 2:20:05. The female winner was also the female masters winner, Jen Hitchings of Sacramento, CA in 2:51:27. The masters winner was Scott Fanning of Lebanon, TN in 2:39:29. The top local finishers were Josh Whitehead in 2:31:37 and Candace Jacobs in 2:57:16. View the results in a variety of detail at the RCM website.

Limestone County finishers are listed below.

Chris	Ramsden	Athens	3:20:19
Eric	Patterson	Athens	3:29:09
Tom	Holt	Athens	3:32:47
Caitlin	Milford	Elkmont	3:33:10
Tony	King	Athens	3:42:05
Melissa	Oppman	Athens	3:57:34
Rex	Tucker	Athens	4:00:00
Glen	King	Athens	4:06:00
Dave	Slutzky	Athens	4:08:27
Tom	Davidson	Athens	4:08:36
Eddy	Burks	Athens	4:09:10
Debi	Crowley	Elkmont	4:14:16
Justin	Bedingfield	Athens	4:27:35
Barry	Reece	Athens	4:28:38
Denny	Thornton	Athens	4:51:23
John	Smith	Athens	4:52:39
Chris	Furno	Athens	4:59:55
Mark	York	Ardmore	5:19:30
Brooke	Thompson	Athens	5:58:07