Rocket City Back Half: Hallie Jordan Owns the F25-29 Field

• Hallie Jordan won the F25-29 age group in 1:47:23 (8:11/mi), finishing 8th among all women — a commanding margin of more than seven minutes over the runner-up.
• Kaylee Sharp was the biggest mover of the day, climbing from 29th to 18th among women in the second half to claim 2nd in F25-29 with a 1:54:29.
• The podium was settled, but positions 4 through 8 were tightly contested — just 2:45 separated 4th-place Stacy Parris (2:07:08) from 8th-place Kendra Storz (2:10:58).
• Jessica Maxwell made a strong push in the closing stretch, climbing from 86th to 52nd among women on the 10K-to-finish segment — the 44th-fastest women's closing split in the field.

New Orleans' Hallie Jordan didn't just win the F25-29 age group — she made it look easy. Running 8:11 per mile through Huntsville's humid December morning (98% humidity is no joke, even at 56°F), Jordan crossed in 1:47:23 and held steady at 8th among all women from the 10K mark to the finish. Her 9th-fastest women's closing split confirmed she wasn't just coasting to the tape — she was still racing.

Behind her, Decatur's Kaylee Sharp delivered the most compelling second-half story in the group. Starting the back half ranked 29th among women, she reeled in runner after runner to finish 18th — a gain of 11 places — and locked up 2nd in F25-29 with a 1:54:29. Her 14th-fastest women's closing split tells you exactly how she did it: she ran the second half better than almost everyone around her.

Third place went to Jessica Maxwell of Northport in 2:04:27, who also had a strong finishing kick — moving from 86th to 52nd among women over the final 10K. Meanwhile, Stacy Parris, Elizabeth Jones, Adrienne Upton, Kelley Murphy, and Kendra Storz all finished within a narrow three-minute window from 4th through 8th, making that middle tier of the age group one of the more competitive stretches of the entire women's field on the day.