Rocket City Half Marathon F35-39: Filiberto Leads Wire to Wire

• Amanda Filiberto won the F35-39 age group in 1:42:02 (7:47/mi), the only finisher in the group to break 1:45.
• Virginia Pollard and Kimberley Meinema were separated by just 32 seconds at the finish (1:46:50 vs. 1:47:22) for 2nd and 3rd.
• Pollard was the stronger closer, posting the 15th-fastest women's split on the 8M→Finish stretch while Meinema slipped back with the 30th-fastest — a late-race swing that nearly flipped the podium.
• The top 5 were separated by 10:12, with Adrienne Robertson (Gurley, AL) rounding out the group in 1:52:14.

Amanda Filiberto came to Huntsville and made the F35-39 race look straightforward. Running 7:47 per mile across 13.1 miles in mild but breezy December conditions, the Gainesville, FL runner finished more than four and a half minutes clear of second place — a gap that left no doubt at the line. She sat 3rd among women through the 8-mile mark before settling to 4th by the finish, a reflection of the competitive women's field around her, but within the F35-39 group she was simply in a different race.

The real drama unfolded behind her, where Virginia Pollard and Kimberley Meinema ran the final stretch in a tight battle. Meinema held 15th among women at the 8-mile mark while Pollard was back in 20th — but Pollard's stronger closing leg, the 15th-fastest women's split on that final segment, allowed her to overtake and finish 32 seconds ahead. Meinema's 30th-fastest closing split wasn't a collapse, just enough of a difference to hand Pollard a clear 2nd place in the age group.

Nicole Deford (Nashville, TN) finished 4th in 1:51:12, moving up two spots among women in the back half, while local runner Adrienne Robertson of Gurley, AL held steady in 5th at 1:52:14. Beyond the top five, a tight cluster formed between 1:54 and 2:00, with Kara Heer, Mekelle Bess, Jennifer Willoughby, Rachel Evans, and Alexis Spalding all finishing within that six-minute window across places 6 through 10.