F20-24: Alison Anderson Surges Home to Take the Age Group

• Anderson wins in 1:42:05 (7:47/mi), posting the fastest women's split on the 10K-to-Finish stretch to seal the victory.
• 55-second gap to Stern: Alexa Stern (1:43:00, 7:51/mi) held 3rd among women at the 10K mark before Anderson ran her down and pulled clear.
• Maura Mulligan's charge: The Huntsville local climbed from 31st to 14th among women in the back half, logging the 8th-fastest women's split on that closing stretch — the biggest mover in the age group.
• 16 finishers completed the F20-24 race, spread across a 1:37:53 window from first to last.

Alison Anderson from Hixson, TN, was not in front when the 10K checkpoint came and went — she was sitting 7th among women at that stage. What followed was a controlled demolition of the field. She unleashed the fastest women's split on the 10K-to-Finish segment, climbing three spots in the women's race and locking up the F20-24 title in 1:42:05. At 7:47 per mile, she was running a pace that very few in the women's field could match when it mattered most.

Alexa Stern of Saline, MI, had looked like the one to beat through the first half, sitting 3rd among women at 10K. She finished 2nd in the age group in 1:43:00 — a strong 7:51/mi effort — but the 5th-fastest women's closing split wasn't quite enough to hold off Anderson's late charge. The 55-second gap between them tells the story of how decisively Anderson moved in those final miles.

The most dramatic journey through the back half belonged to Maura Mulligan. The Huntsville native was buried in 31st among women at the 10K mark, but her 8th-fastest women's closing split carried her all the way to 14th in the women's race and 3rd in the age group — a 17-place climb. She finished in 1:52:15, nearly 10 minutes clear of 4th-place Christin Eckerle (2:01:02). Behind them, the rest of the 16-woman field spread out across a wide range of finishing times, with Taylor Rowe of Jasper, AL, rounding out the group in 3:19:58.