Rocket City Half Marathon: McMillian dominates M35-39 with a 6:03 pace

• Matt McMillian won the M35-39 group in 1:19:15 (6:03/mi), finishing 2nd among men overall at the halfway mark before closing as 3rd among men — a commanding wire-to-wire performance.
• Bo Brawner took 2nd in 1:24:38, a 5:23 gap back, moving from 7th to 6th among men on the closing stretch.
• Michael Gaston rounded out the podium in 1:30:21, climbing from 14th to 12th among men over the final miles.
• A 27-man field spread across more than 57 minutes from 1st to 20th place, with the top four all holding sub-7:20 pace.

Matt McMillian, 39, of Owens Cross Roads, made the M35-39 race his own from the gun. Running at 6:03 per mile, he wasn't just the fastest in his age group — he was sitting 2nd among all men at the 10K checkpoint before settling to 3rd among men at the finish. His closing split on the 10K-to-finish stretch was the 3rd-fastest among men in the entire field, a sign he didn't let up when it mattered most.

Bo Brawner, also 38 and racing on home turf in Huntsville, was the clear runner-up at 1:24:38. He actually gained a place among the men's field over the second half — moving from 7th to 6th — posting the 5th-fastest men's split on that same closing stretch. Michael Gaston of Birmingham completed the podium in 1:30:21, also picking up two spots among men in the back half to finish 12th in the men's field.

Behind the podium, Kristofer Driggers (1:35:37, 7:18/mi) held 4th solidly, while Ty Shepard's 1:43:33 gave him 5th. From there, the field spread out considerably — Thomas Faust of Spring, TX checked in 6th at 1:45:32, and the gap from 6th to 10th (Nathan Carter, 1:58:20) covered nearly 13 minutes. With 59°F temperatures and a light 9 mph wind keeping conditions mild for December in Huntsville, the top of this group had every opportunity to run fast — and McMillian, for one, took full advantage.