Rocket City Marathon F25-29: Jarrell Runs Away with It

• Allison Jarrell won the F25-29 age group in 3:20:20 (7:38/mi), the only finisher in the group to break 3:30.
• Jarrell posted the 7th-fastest women's split from 10K to the half, a mid-race surge that helped her climb from 11th to 8th among all women before the finish.
• Hannah Fletcher made the most dramatic second-half move, climbing from 25th to 21st among women on the 31K-to-finish leg — the 20th-fastest women's split on that closing stretch.
• Caroline Irby and Anna Bekah Hancock both finished in exactly 4:43:46 — same displayed time, with Irby's 13th-place finish edging Hancock's 14th by the narrowest of margins.

Allison Jarrell (High Point, NC) turned in the most commanding performance in the F25-29 age group, crossing in 3:20:20 at a 7:38/mi clip — a full 13:25 ahead of runner-up Mariah Picka. Her race was built on a strong middle segment: her 10K-to-half split ranked 7th among all women, and she used it to move steadily up the women's field, climbing from 11th to 8th before settling 10th by the finish line. On a warm, humid December morning in Huntsville — 60°F and 85% humidity, conditions that tend to punish anyone who goes out too hard — Jarrell's pacing held up where others faded.

Picka (Savage, MN) ran a steady 3:33:45 (8:09/mi) to claim second, holding a consistent position around 20th among women throughout. Third went to Hannah Fletcher (Columbus, MS) in 3:36:25, and her story is in the back half: she moved from 25th to 21st among women between 31K and the finish, posting the 20th-fastest women's closing split to secure her podium spot. The gap from Picka to Fletcher was just under three minutes, making the second and third spots the closest battle on the podium.

Karri Morton (Huntsville, AL) was the local standout in fourth, finishing in 3:53:35 and posting the 35th-fastest women's split from the half to 31K — a strong middle segment that helped her climb from 47th to 39th among women before a slight fade to 44th at the line. Morgan Kreger (Birmingham, AL) told a different story in fifth: solid through the half, then a significant fade — dropping from 28th to 71st among women on the back half — before finishing in 4:05:41. Behind them, 15 more finishers rounded out a 27-woman F25-29 field, with Sarah Benko (4:14:14), Rosie Jochum (4:15:37), and Mallory Brown (4:19:45) filling out spots 6 through 8.