Masters Men at Rocket City: Franklin Runs Away with It

• Brett Franklin (Huntsville, AL) won the Masters Men field in 1:33:47 (7:09/mi), the fastest finish in the group by nearly three minutes.
• Scott Murr, 61, claimed 2nd in 1:36:37 — moving up two spots among the men in the back half to lock down the runner-up spot.
• Ravikumar Tikka was the biggest mover in the top five, climbing three places among the men on the 10K-to-finish leg to seal 5th in 1:45:19.
• The top three all posted top-nine splits on the 10K→Finish segment among the men's field — a strong collective finish from the podium.

Sixty degrees, overcast, and barely a breath of wind: conditions were about as kind as December in Huntsville gets, and Brett Franklin made full use of them. The local favorite ran 7:09 per mile across 13.1 miles to win the Masters Men field in 1:33:47 — a margin of two minutes and fifty seconds over 2nd place that left little doubt about who was in charge from the start. Franklin also posted the 6th-fastest split among the men on the 10K-to-Finish leg, meaning he didn't just hold on — he closed.

Scott Murr, at 61 years old, delivered one of the day's better stories. The Greenville, SC runner sat 10th among the men at the 10K mark and worked his way up to 8th by the finish, crossing in 1:36:37 at a 7:22/mi clip. That's a 61-year-old running sub-1:37 in a 55-man Masters field — and finishing 2nd overall in it. Keith Chapman of Franklin, TN rounded out the podium in 1:38:54 (7:33/mi), holding his position steady across the second half and posting the 9th-fastest closing split among the men.

Further back, Ravikumar Tikka (Frisco, TX) was the most aggressive mover in the top five, gaining three places among the men between 10K and the finish to land 5th in 1:45:19. The race thinned out considerably after the top six — Duane Ricketts (6th, 1:48:54) and Penh Beidler (7th, 1:51:12) held firm, while the pack from 8th through 20th spread across a 10-minute window from 1:54:28 to 2:05:16, with 35 more Masters men completing the course behind them.