Rocket City Marathon F60-64: Bullock Breaks Four Hours to Lead the Age Group

• Nina Bullock won the F60-64 group in 3:58:22 (9:05/mi), the only finisher to crack the four-hour barrier across all 11 women in the age group.
• Bullock moved from 96th to 79th among all women in the women's field over the final stretch, posting the 69th-fastest women's split on the 31K-to-finish segment.
• Nita Wessel and Lisa Carlucci rounded out the podium at 4:06:10 and 4:13:41 — separated by 7 minutes and 31 seconds, with Wessel climbing from 129th to 97th among women on the day.
• Jennifer Coleman (7th, 4:34:48) raced a full weekend: she also placed 10th among women in the 10K and 5th among women in the 5K at this same event — a remarkable multi-race effort.

Nina Bullock made the statement of the day in the F60-64 group. Running a steady 9:05-per-mile pace out of Marietta, Georgia, the 63-year-old didn't just win — she was the only one in the field to go sub-four hours, finishing in 3:58:22 on a warm, breezy December morning (70°F, 17 mph winds, and 76% humidity — conditions that have a way of taking the edge off late-race legs). She climbed steadily through the women's field all day, moving from 96th to 79th among women over the final miles.

Nita Wessel of Cincinnati gave chase with real purpose. Her 31K-to-finish split was the 70th-fastest among all women — just one spot behind Bullock's — and she climbed from 129th to 97th among women by the tape. Her 4:06:10 was a solid run in tough conditions, though it left her 7:48 behind Bullock. Lisa Carlucci (4:13:41, 9:41/mi) from Victorville, California, rounded out the podium in third, also finishing stronger than she started by moving from 141st to 115th among women.

The most layered story of the day, though, may belong to Jennifer Coleman. The Rome, Georgia, 61-year-old finished 7th in the F60-64 group at 4:34:48, but that marathon was just one piece of her weekend: she also placed 5th among women in the 5K and 10th among women in the 10K at this same event. Racing across three distances at Rocket City is a feat that deserves its own spotlight, and Coleman earned every step of it.