F70-74: Jackie Hobbs Owns the Second Half

• Sole finisher in the F70-74 age group, crossing in 3:18:49 at a 15:10/mi average pace.
• Picked up three places among women in the back half, moving from 166th to 163rd.
• Posted the 166th-fastest women's split on the 10K-to-Finish stretch.

Jackie Hobbs, 73, from Seattle, WV, had the F70-74 age group entirely to herself on a tough December morning in Huntsville — 70°F with 17 mph winds and humidity sitting at 76%, conditions that had the whole field working harder than the calendar might suggest.

She made those conditions count. Rather than fading in the back half, Hobbs actually gained ground on the women around her, climbing from 166th to 163rd among women over the final stretch from 10K to the finish line. That's a meaningful move when the legs are burning and the wind is pushing back.

A finish of 3:18:49 over 13.1 miles at 15:10 per mile — held together through heat and humidity — is a real performance, and Hobbs walked away the undisputed champion of her age group.