Rocket City Marathon Front Half — M40-44: Zajac claims the age group in dominant fashion

• Jason Zajac won the M40-44 group in 1:42:19 (7:48/mi), finishing more than three minutes clear of second place.
• Ravikumar Tikka ran a strong second in 1:45:19 (8:02/mi), gaining three places among men in the back half to lock up the runner-up spot.
• Third through sixth were separated by just 8:21 across the line, with John Holcombe (1:54:28), Derrick Williams (1:58:22), David Peden (2:02:38), and Justin Robinson (2:02:49) bunched in a compelling mid-pack battle.
• David Peden was the biggest mover in the wrong direction late, slipping 11 places among men from the 10K to the finish — the sharpest fade in the M40-44 field.

Jason Zajac, 44, out of Birmingham, set the tone early and never let up. His 7:48/mi average held firm across the full 13.1 miles on a humid, 60°F morning in Huntsville, and his margin at the tape — three minutes over Tikka — was the clearest statement of dominance in the M40-44 group. That he was the oldest man in the field to reach the podium makes it all the more impressive.

Ravikumar Tikka made the race interesting by running the second half better than the first, climbing from 19th to 16th among men after the 10K and posting the second-fastest 10K-to-finish split in the M40-44 group. His 8:02/mi pace held steady and earned him a comfortable second. John Holcombe of Madison, AL rounded out the podium in 1:54:28, finishing 25th among men and running a controlled race throughout.

The battle for fourth and fifth was the most entertaining subplot of the morning. Derrick Williams (1:58:22) and David Peden (2:02:38) were separated by nearly four minutes at the line, but Peden had actually been running ahead of Williams at the 10K mark. Peden's fade — dropping 11 places among men in the second half — let Williams pull clear, while Justin Robinson (2:02:49) nearly caught Peden entirely, finishing just 11 seconds back in sixth.

Jimmy Wu closed out the 12-man M40-44 field in 3:59:52, his 18:18/mi pace suggesting a very different kind of morning than the rest of the group — but finishing a half marathon is finishing a half marathon, and he got it done.