M75-79: Baker edges Gallemore in a battle of Rocket City veterans

• Wynne Baker, 76, of Lebanon, TN, took the M75-79 title in 9:46:24 — an 188:45/mi average pace across the 5K.
• Graham Gallemore, 79, of Huntsville, AL, finished 2nd in 9:58:10, just under 12 minutes back.
• The two-man M75-79 field was separated by 11 minutes and 46 seconds at the finish line.

On a mild but humid December morning in Huntsville — 60°F and 85% humidity — just two men toed the line in the M75-79 age group, and both of them got it done. That alone is worth celebrating: running a 5K at 76 and 79 years old is no small thing, and Wynne Baker and Graham Gallemore gave the Rocket City Marathon 5K a genuine contest at the back of the age spectrum.

Baker, making the trip down from Lebanon, Tennessee, set the pace that mattered, crossing in 9:46:24 at an average of 188:45 per mile to claim the M75-79 win. Gallemore, the hometown runner from Huntsville, pushed through in 9:58:10 — a 192:32/mi average — finishing just shy of the 10-minute mark and roughly 12 minutes behind Baker at the line.

The gap between them was real but not enormous for a race at this level of the age spectrum, and Gallemore had the added character of running on home soil. Baker's margin of victory — 11 minutes and 46 seconds — was enough to be decisive, but Gallemore's presence and finish deserve its own acknowledgment: at 79, he was the elder statesman of the entire race, and he finished.