Rocket City Marathon M65-69: Hamric Leads Wire to Wire

• Ron Hamric (1st, 3:56:56) was the only finisher in the M65-69 group to break four hours, averaging 9:02/mi across the full 26.2.
• Joe Hudak (2nd, 4:07:41) and Roy Tamez (3rd, 4:11:26) were separated by just 3:45, with Tamez — the oldest man on the podium at 69 — closing the gap on the final stretch by running a faster 31K-to-finish split.
• Scott Coe (11th, 5:40:02) and Damien Flaherty (12th, 5:40:02) finished in the same displayed time, with Coe edging Flaherty by the narrowest of margins.
• Lee Hollingsworth (14th, 6:08:24) and Bob Winiecki (15th, 6:08:42) brought it home 18 seconds apart to close out a field of 15 in the M65-69 group.

Ron Hamric, 65, from Bruceton Mills, WV, owned this race from start to finish. His moves tell the story plainly: he entered the men's field at 282nd place, then steadily picked off runners at every checkpoint — 267th, 230th, and ultimately 186th among men at the finish. That kind of sustained, disciplined progression at 9:02/mi in warm, humid December air (60°F, 85% humidity) is no accident. He also posted the fastest 31K-to-finish split in the M65-69 group, a strong close when others were fading.

Joe Hudak (4:07:41) held second place throughout, his own checkpoint progression — 314th to 233rd among men — mirroring Hamric's patience. Roy Tamez, the eldest podium finisher at 69, crossed in 4:11:26 but made Hudak earn it: Tamez's 31K-to-finish split was actually faster than Hudak's, trimming the gap in the closing miles before ultimately falling 3:45 short of second.

Brian Love (4th, 4:24:24) rounded out the top four with a 10:05/mi average, while Steve Yob (5th, 4:49:28) and Don Hillis (6th, 4:58:26) kept the race competitive through the middle of the pack. The back half of the field spread across a wide range, from Rick Stockton (7th, 5:02:21) through Rich Harris (13th, 5:57:55), before Hollingsworth and Winiecki brought the full M65-69 field home within 18 seconds of each other at the very end.