Rocket City 5K — F60-64: Kelly Edges Libby in a Frigid Photo Finish

• Karen Kelly wins in 27:18 (8:47/mi), holding off Tina Libby by just three seconds in a bitterly cold 29°F morning in Huntsville.
• Libby's 27:21 makes the top two the closest battle in the F60-64 field — a gap of three seconds across 3.1 miles.
• Helen Brooks takes third in 29:56 (9:38/mi), more than two and a half minutes back but well clear of fourth.
• 24 women finished in the F60-64 age group, ranging from 27:18 to beyond 50 minutes.

With temperatures sitting at 29°F and a 16 mph wind cutting across Huntsville, the F60-64 age group got after it anyway — and the top of the field made it a genuine race. Karen Kelly of Huntsville crossed in 27:18 at an 8:47/mi clip, but Tina Libby of Madison was right on her heels, finishing in 27:21. Three seconds over 3.1 miles is as close as it gets without a dead heat, and Kelly held her ground to take the win.

Helen Brooks of North Richland Hills, TX, rounded out the podium in 29:56 — a 9:38/mi effort that earned third place comfortably, as Lisa Devine (30:50, 9:55/mi) and Debra Shone (31:22, 10:06/mi) filled out the top five. The gap from second to third was a more substantial two minutes and thirty-five seconds, meaning the real drama of the day was concentrated entirely in that razor-thin duel at the front.

Further back, Wendy Wilson (31:58) and Kimberly Holt (32:26) rounded out the top seven, while Nicole Shaklee (34:18) and Larisa Pereboeva (34:49) claimed eighth and ninth. Paula Benyo closed the top ten in 36:20. The field spread wide from there, with Stacia Jackson finishing 20th in 50:42 and four additional finishers completing the 24-woman group. On a morning this cold, every one of them earned it.