Rocket City Half Marathon: Alice Schneider Owns the F80-99 Field

• Solo champion: Alice Schneider, 80, of Cincinnati, Ohio, claimed 1st in the F80-99 age group in 3:35:21.
• Finishing pace: 16:26 per mile across 13.1 miles on a mild, breezy Huntsville morning.
• Late-race move: Schneider picked up one place among women on the final stretch from 10K to the finish, moving from 240th to 239th in the women's field.
• Closing split: Her 10K-to-finish segment ranked 237th-fastest among all women in the race.

There was one finisher in the F80-99 age group at the 2024 Rocket City Marathon Half Marathon, and she was more than enough of a story. Alice Schneider, an 80-year-old from Cincinnati, Ohio, toed the line in Huntsville and covered all 13.1 miles to claim the age group title outright — the only octogenarian woman to do so on the day.

Schneider held a 16:26-per-mile average across the course, navigating 59°F temperatures and a 9 mph breeze to reach the finish in 3:35:21. That's a sustained effort over more than three and a half hours, and she didn't fade — she actually gained ground in the women's field during the back half, moving from 240th to 239th among women between the 10K mark and the finish line. Her closing split ranked 237th-fastest among women in the race, a sign she was still working through the final miles.

At 80 years old, simply finishing a half marathon is a legitimate athletic achievement. Schneider didn't just finish — she raced it, closed it, and walked away the uncontested champion of her age group. The F80-99 title at Rocket City 2024 belongs entirely to her.