Rocket City Marathon M45-49: Whitehead Runs Away with It

• Josh Whitehead (Madison, AL) won the M45-49 group in 2:32:18 — a 5:49/mi average — finishing more than 19 minutes clear of the field.
• Steve Kindred (Kaysville, UT) and Orinthal Striggles (Columbia, SC) battled closely for the podium, separated by just 42 seconds at 2:51:54 and 2:52:36.
• Whitehead posted the 3rd-fastest 31K-to-finish split among the men, a sign he was still pressing hard deep into the race despite already owning a commanding lead.
• 70°F, 17 mph winds, and 76% humidity made for tough late-race conditions — yet the top four all broke 3:00.

Josh Whitehead turned this into a one-man show. The Madison local moved through the men's field from 3rd at 10K all the way to 2nd by the finish, and he was similarly dominant within the M45-49 group from the gun. Running 5:49 per mile across 26.2 miles in sticky, windy December heat is a performance that speaks for itself — his nearest competitor needed nearly 20 more minutes to cross the line.

The real drama in this group played out a tier back, where Steve Kindred and Orinthal Striggles waged a quiet war across the full 26 miles. Kindred, making his way down from Kaysville, Utah, held the edge at 2:51:54, with Striggles of Columbia, SC clocking 2:52:36. Both men were moving well in the back half — Kindred posted the 19th-fastest 10K-to-half split among the men, and Striggles the 20th-fastest 31K-to-finish — meaning neither was fading; they were simply racing each other to the line. Luis Ochoa (New Orleans, LA) rounded out the top four in 2:57:16, also finishing stronger than most with the 24th-fastest closing split among the men.

Further down, the race tightened up in interesting ways. Ben McLain and Bryan Heaton were separated by just 19 seconds at 3:07:07 and 3:07:26 for 5th and 6th, while Travis Martin and Adrian Hall both clocked 3:09 for 7th and 8th. Brett Franklin and Edward Hargrove each recorded 3:17:2x — same displayed minute, different places, with Hargrove edging just ahead. In a group of 64 finishers battling warm winds through Huntsville, those margins tell the real story of how competitive this field ran.