M35-39 Half Marathon: Ongaki Dominates in Huntsville's Warm December Air

• Samuel Ongaki (39, Birmingham) won M35-39 in 1:16:23 — a 5:50/mi pace that put him 15 minutes and 42 seconds clear of runner-up Eric Thomas.
• Eric Thomas (36, Huntsville) held 2nd in 1:32:05, with Kristofer Driggers (38, Madison) rounding out the podium in 1:37:23 — a 5:18 gap between them.
• Corey Williams made the biggest move of the race, climbing from outside the top 40 among men at the 10K mark all the way to 28th among men by the finish — the most dramatic second-half surge in the M35-39 group.
• 18 men finished across a span of 1 hour, 36 minutes and 26 seconds, from Ongaki's 1:16:23 to Brian Carter's 2:52:49.

Seventy degrees, 17 mph winds, and 76% humidity in December — not exactly ideal marathon conditions — and Samuel Ongaki treated it like a training run. The 39-year-old from Birmingham posted a 5:50/mi average over 13.1 miles, good for 2nd among all men in the field, and backed it up with the 2nd-fastest split among men on the 10K-to-finish stretch. At an age where most runners are managing the back half, Ongaki was accelerating through it.

Eric Thomas, running on home turf in Huntsville, was the clear second-best in M35-39 with a 7:01/mi effort and the 5th-fastest men's closing split. Kristofer Driggers (7:26/mi) held third comfortably, while David Vandeusen faded slightly over the second half, slipping from 11th among men at the 10K to 14th by the finish — a sign the conditions took a toll late.

The most compelling subplot belonged to Corey Williams. Sitting 41st among men through 10K, he reeled in runner after runner over the back half, ultimately finishing 28th among men — a gain of 13 places. His closing split ranked 19th among men on that segment, a strong finish that earned him 5th in M35-39 at 8:23/mi.

Behind the top five, the field spread across a wide range of paces, from Joel Hahn's 8:54/mi in 6th to Brian Carter's 13:11/mi anchor finish. All 18 men crossed the line, which on a warm, windy December morning in Alabama is its own kind of win.