Rocket City Marathon F75-79: Que Pham Owns the Age Group

• Sole finisher and champion: Que Pham, 76, crossed in 5:49:28 at a 13:20/mi average on a frigid 29°F morning in Huntsville.
• Consistent presence: Pham held a position in the 430s among all women throughout, finishing 431st in the women's field.
• Late push: Pham's women's place actually improved from 438th to 431st over the final stretch, reclaiming ground in the closing miles.

There was only one name on the F75-79 start list Sunday morning, and Que Pham of Houston made sure it counted. Running through 29°F temperatures with a 16 mph wind cutting across the course, the 76-year-old covered all 26.2 miles in 5:49:28 — a 13:20/mi average that represents a genuine feat of endurance in conditions that would give many younger runners pause.

Pham's race unfolded with quiet steadiness. She tracked in the 430s among the women's field for most of the morning, dipping to 438th at one point before rallying over the final segment. From the 20-mile mark to the finish, she moved back up to 431st among women — a small but real recovery that shows she didn't simply survive the cold miles, she competed through them.

There are no rivals to measure her against in F75-79 — she is the entire group — but the finish line doesn't care about field size. Que Pham ran a marathon in December, in freezing wind, at 76 years old, and she finished it. That's the whole story, and it's a good one.