Rocket City Marathon 5K — F20-24: Makenzey Starks pulls away from a tight pack

• Makenzey Starks won the F20-24 age group in 34:40 (11:09/mi), finishing more than 3 minutes ahead of the next finisher.
• Rosalinda De Luna, Hailey Havourd, and Faith Hu finished 2nd through 4th within a razor-thin 13-second window — 37:54, 38:04, and 38:07.
• All seven F20-24 finishers were age 20 or 23–24, a notably tight age cluster across the group.
• The gap from 5th to 6th was a striking 11 minutes — Allie Grace Moran's 39:31 and Lucia Robledo's 50:31 marking the sharpest split in the field.

Makenzey Starks, representing Fort Knox, KY, made the F20-24 race look like two separate contests. Her 34:40 at 11:09/mi was in a class of its own — a margin of 3:14 over 2nd place that left little drama at the front. On a warm, breezy December morning in Huntsville (70°F, 17 mph winds, and humidity pushing 76%), running clear of the field by that margin was no small thing.

Behind Starks, the real action was a three-way scramble for the podium. Rosalinda De Luna of Birmingham crossed in 37:54 to claim 2nd, but Hailey Havourd of Owens Cross Roads was just 10 seconds back in 3rd at 38:04. Then came Faith Hu of Madison in 38:07 — just 3 seconds further behind. Three runners, one age group, 13 seconds of separation: that's a battle worth savoring.

Allie Grace Moran rounded out the top five in 39:31, holding a comfortable cushion over the back of the field. Lucia Robledo and Hali Powell — both from Birmingham — finished 6th and 7th in 50:31 and 55:07 respectively, running their own race well off the pace of the lead pack. Seven finishers, two very different stories unfolding on the same course.