Rocket City Marathon M70-74: Willets Wins It Going Away

• Michael Willets (age 70, New Carlisle, OH) took the M70-74 title in 4:10:50 — a 9:34/mi average — finishing 16:10 ahead of runner-up Jack Baggett.
• Jack Baggett (age 73, Rock Spring, GA) claimed 2nd in 4:27:00, with Rick Stockton (Hoover, AL) just 3:28 further back in 3rd at 4:30:28.
• The field of 12 spanned more than 2 hours 11 minutes from first to last, with a notable gap opening after 5th place.
• Willets posted the strongest second-half surge in the group, moving from 321st to 312th among the men through the half, then recovering to 315th by the finish after a mid-race dip — showing consistent competitive drive across all 26.2 miles in 70°F heat and 17 mph winds.

Michael Willets ran the most controlled race of any M70-74 competitor, averaging 9:34 per mile from New Carlisle, Ohio to the finish line in Huntsville. The margin he built was decisive: 16-plus minutes over Baggett is not a close contest, it's a statement. In conditions that included significant humidity and wind, holding that pace at age 70 was the defining performance of the group.

Behind Willets, the battle for the podium was genuinely tight. Jack Baggett (age 73) and Rick Stockton (age 70) were separated by just 3:28 at the line — Stockton actually ran a stronger second half relative to his earlier pace, climbing from 419th to 390th among the men after the halfway mark. Baggett held his position more steadily throughout, but Stockton was clearly the one closing the gap late.

The middle of the field — Magargee and Lin in 4th and 5th — finished within four minutes of each other around the 4:54–4:58 range, while a larger gap separated them from the back half of the group. Positions 6 through 12 ranged from 5:22 to 6:22, with Tim Warren (age 74) and Dr. Emmanuel Enujioke (age 74) both completing the full marathon in under 5:41 — a respectable effort for the oldest competitors in the M70-74 field.