Rocket City 10K: Potter Claims M75-79 in a Battle of Huntsville Neighbors

• William Potter won the M75-79 age group in 1:19:55 (12:52/mi), finishing 13 minutes and 8 seconds ahead of the only other man in the field.
• Wilburn Douglass Jr. completed the 10K in 1:33:03 (14:58/mi) to claim second — and the silver lining of knowing he finished a 10K at 76 years old in warm, windy December conditions.
• Both men hail from Huntsville, Alabama — making this a true local showdown on home roads.
• Racing at 76 years old, both athletes finished a 10K on a day that delivered 70°F heat, 17 mph winds, and 76% humidity — conditions that would test runners of any age.

William Potter and Wilburn Douglass Jr. were the only two men to toe the line in the M75-79 age group, and Potter made sure there was no doubt about the outcome. Running a steady 12:52 per mile, he crossed in 1:19:55 — a composed, controlled effort that earned him the age-group win outright.

Douglass Jr. wasn't far off the pace in spirit, covering the same Huntsville roads at 14:58 per mile to finish in 1:33:03. The 13-minute-and-8-second gap between them tells the story of two men tackling very different days, but the same finish line.

What makes this recap worth savoring is the context: two 76-year-olds, both from Huntsville, lining up for a 10K in genuinely tough conditions. The wind, the humidity, and the unseasonable warmth were real factors — and both men ran through all of it. Potter gets the win, Douglass gets the second, and together they get the distinction of being the entire M75-79 field at the 2023 Rocket City Marathon 10K.