Rocket City Marathon 10K — F40-44: Elangwe edges Garcia in a breathless finish

• Patty Elangwe won the F40-44 age group in 7:53:10 (76:09/mi avg), holding off Beatriz Garcia by just 18 seconds.
• Beatriz Garcia (Huntsville, AL) was the runner-up at 7:53:28 — the closest margin anywhere in the top five.
• The podium was completed by Lynelle Lund of Emerald Isle, NC, in 7:56:05 — just 31 seconds back of Garcia but 2:55 clear of 4th.
• The top 10 were separated by only 9 minutes and 41 seconds across 29 finishers, signaling a remarkably tight field on a warm, humid December morning.

Patty Elangwe of Peachtree Corners, GA made the trip to Huntsville worthwhile, claiming the F40-44 title by the slimmest of margins. Her 76:09/mi pace held just enough to keep Beatriz Garcia — a hometown runner — from stealing the win. Eighteen seconds over 10 kilometers is razor-thin, and Garcia will know exactly where those seconds went.

Lynelle Lund locked up third with a 76:37/mi effort that put 2:55 of daylight between herself and fourth-place Pamela Wheat (7:56:36). That gap between 3rd and 4th is actually the largest in the entire top five, suggesting Lund ran a confident, settled race rather than getting dragged into a late scramble. Haley James and Amy Johnson — both Huntsville locals — rounded out the top six, keeping the home crowd well represented on the leaderboard.

The middle of the field told its own story of attrition and grit. From 7th through 10th, Amber Long, Melissa Amaya, Jessica Ipnar, and Rese Meikus were separated by just 93 seconds, with Rebecca Muncher arriving in 11th only 19 seconds after Meikus. In 60°F humidity-soaked air, that kind of clustering deep in the field reflects how evenly matched — and how hard-pressed — this group was all the way to the finish line.