Rocket City 10K: Connie Defazio Owns the F70-74 Field

• Connie Defazio, 72, took the F70-74 win in 1:25:51 at a 13:49/mi pace through 29°F winds.
• Vickie Valentine, 70, finished 2nd in 1:41:13 — a 15:22 gap back from Defazio.
• Two women lined up in the F70-74 group on a frigid Huntsville morning; both crossed the finish line.

On a biting December morning — 29°F, clear skies, and a 16 mph wind cutting through Huntsville — Connie Defazio of New Albany, MS made the F70-74 race her own. The 72-year-old covered the 10K at a 13:49/mi clip, finishing in 1:25:51 to claim the group win outright. Running a 10K at 72 in those conditions is a statement in itself, and Defazio delivered it clearly.

Vickie Valentine of Mason, OH brought the field to two, crossing in 1:41:13 at 16:17/mi to take 2nd. The 70-year-old was 15 minutes and 22 seconds behind Defazio — a meaningful gap that reflects a genuine difference in pace on the day, not a close chase. Still, finishing a 10K at 70 in near-freezing temperatures with a stiff wind is no small thing, and Valentine's completion of the race rounds out a two-woman F70-74 field that showed up when plenty of others might have stayed home.

Credit to both athletes for toeing the line in conditions that would send most runners to the treadmill.