Rocket City 5K — M40-44: Marin Dominates in the Cold

• Kristopher Marin won the M40-44 group in 19:26 (6:15/mi), finishing 2:35 ahead of runner-up Kendall Dock — a commanding margin in a 28-man field.
• Dock (22:01) and Joshua Heroux (22:38) were separated by just 37 seconds for 2nd and 3rd, while Nathan Campbell (23:05) sat another 27 seconds back in 4th.
• Campbell's return trip: he finished 8th in M40-44 here in 2024 with a 21:33 — this year he crossed 4th at 23:05, a slower time but a better place in the group.
• Two men from the same event weekend pulled double duty: Marin also placed 6th among men in the 10K, and Dock placed 10th among men in the 10K — both backing up their 5K efforts across races.

Twenty-nine-degree air and a 16 mph wind made for a sharp morning in Huntsville, and Kristopher Marin of Centerville, OH made it look almost comfortable. His 19:26 — a 6:15/mi clip — wasn't just a win; it was a statement. The 43-year-old put more than two and a half minutes between himself and the rest of the M40-44 field, a gap that was never really in question.

Behind him, the race for the podium was considerably tighter. Kendall Dock of New Market, AL ran a 7:05/mi pace to claim 2nd in 22:01, with Joshua Heroux of Ocean Springs, MS right on his heels at 22:38 for 3rd. That 37-second gap kept things honest. Nathan Campbell of Chicago, IL settled into 4th at 23:05, and the story around him is worth noting: he was 8th in this same age group at Rocket City last year in 21:33. The time is slower this year, but he moved up four spots — a different kind of progress.

The Marin-Dock double-race storyline deserves its own mention. Both men also competed in the Rocket City 10K, where Marin finished 6th among men and Dock 10th among men. Racing across two events in one weekend at that level of output — in near-freezing conditions — is no small thing. The remaining 20 finishers stretched from the anonymous 5th-placer at 23:55 all the way back through a field that kept moving, with Brad Rials (30:39, 11th) and Benjamin Green (30:54, 12th) among those who kept the mid-pack honest.