Rocket City 10K — F30-34: Cheney defends in dominant fashion

• Hawley Cheney, 40:02 (6:27/mi): wins the F30-34 age group and improves on her 2024 winning time of 43:17 — a 3:15 gap over second place.
• Kimberly Mercier, 44:31: 2nd in the age group, slashing 3:29 off her own 2024 time of 48:00 — the biggest year-over-year improvement on the podium.
• Kortney Kuhl, 46:13: 3rd, running 54 seconds slower than her 2024 finish of 47:07 — the one podium finisher whose time moved in the wrong direction.
• 49 finishers completed the F30-34 race on a frigid 29°F morning in Huntsville with a 16 mph wind cutting across the course.

Hawley Cheney came back to Rocket City and did exactly what she did a year ago — win — only faster. The 34-year-old from Winchester, TN crossed in 40:02 at a 6:27/mi clip, bettering her 2024 winning time of 43:17 by more than three minutes. That kind of back-to-back dominance is the headline of the F30-34 age group, full stop. Her margin over second place was 4:29, which on a 10K course is a statement, not a close race.

Behind her, Kimberly Mercier was the story of the chase pack. The 32-year-old from New Market, AL finished 2nd in 44:31 — a full 3:29 faster than the 48:00 she ran here in 2024, when she placed 8th among women. That improvement moved her all the way to the podium. Kortney Kuhl of Huntsville rounded out the top three in 46:13, though she ran about a minute slower than her 47:07 from 2024, when she finished 7th among women. The gap between 2nd and 3rd was a manageable 1:42, making that battle the most competitive stretch of the podium.

Amaris Martinez Chaney and Abby Tomlin ran close through the mid-pack, finishing 4th and 5th in 49:03 and 49:52 respectively — separated by just 49 seconds at a 7:54 and 8:02/mi pace. Lorena Fuentes claimed 6th in 52:48 before the field spread out through the back half of the top 20, with Reagan Trepagnier (15th, 59:21) and Kinsie Lassauw (16th, 59:27) finishing just six seconds apart to close out the sub-hour runners.