Rocket City M70-74: Landefeld runs away with it in the Alabama cold

• Dale Landefeld won the M70-74 group in 4:15:32 (9:45/mi), finishing more than 18 minutes clear of the field.
• Larry Lyda held off Jeff Johnston for second — Lyda's 4:33:54 edged Johnston's 4:38:23 by just under five minutes, with both men picking up pace in the final stretch while Johnston faded slightly late.
• Bob Strauss (5:29:27) and Steven Stange (5:39:35) rounded out the six-man group, separated by just over ten minutes at the back.

Six men toed the line in Huntsville's 29°F chill — a biting 16 mph wind making the real-feel even sharper — and Dale Landefeld, 70, from McCalla, Alabama, made it look like a training run by comparison to the rest of the M70-74 field. His 9:45/mi average produced a 4:15:32 finish, and his steady climb through the men's field — moving from 658th to 485th among all men across the race's four checkpoints — tells the story of a runner who got stronger as the miles wore on. His 20M-to-finish split ranked among the faster closers in the broader field, a genuine strong finish on a cold day.

Larry Lyda (4:33:54, 10:27/mi) settled into second place and held it, moving progressively through the men's field from 703rd to 595th by the finish. Jeff Johnston, 71, from Deer Park, Wisconsin, was in the mix early — actually sitting ahead of Lyda in the men's field at the halfway point — but faded in the back half, slipping from 570th to 623rd among men after the 20-mile mark. His 10:37/mi average and 4:38:23 finish secured third, but the late fade cost him any chance at Lyda's spot.

David Tibbetts (5:07:42, 11:44/mi) was consistent if not spectacular, hovering around 750th in the men's field throughout, and crossed fourth. Bob Strauss, 73, from Glencoe, Illinois, was the oldest finisher in the group and showed it in his 5:29:27 — but his 20M-to-finish split was actually stronger than his earlier legs suggested, climbing from 910th to 810th among men in the closing miles. Steven Stange, 70, closed out the six-man group in 5:39:35 (12:57/mi) to complete a full M70-74 card on a genuinely tough winter morning.