F70-74: Strauss takes the win in a battle of septuagenarian marathoners

• Lesley Strauss (age 70, Glencoe, IL) won the F70-74 age group in 6:04:12 (13:53/mi avg).
• Teresa Chandler (age 73, Birmingham, AL) finished 2nd in 6:24:58 (14:41/mi avg) — a gap of 20:46 at the line.
• Chandler was the stronger closer: she gained 8 places among women over the final stretch (31K to finish), while Strauss ceded a handful.

Conditions at Rocket City were no gift — 70°F, 76% humidity, and a 17 mph wind made for a warm, blustery December day in Huntsville. Against that backdrop, two women in their seventies covered 26.2 miles, and that alone deserves recognition before the first split is even mentioned.

Strauss controlled the race from the front, running a steady 13:53-per-mile pace to finish in 6:04:12. Her position among the women's field drifted gradually across the day — moving from 305th to 314th — a natural settling as the field spread out, not a sign of any dramatic fade. The win was hers from start to finish.

Chandler, three years older at 73, told a different story in the back half. After slipping a few spots in the early miles, she reversed course over the final 31K-to-finish stretch, climbing from 331st to 323rd among women — gaining eight places while Strauss was losing a few. Her 14:41-per-mile average and a closing split that ranked 317th among all women speaks to a runner who found another gear when it mattered. The 20:46 gap to Strauss was too large to close, but the direction of travel in those final miles was all Chandler's.