Rocket City Half Marathon M65-69: Wolfsberger edges McCune in a two-man battle

• Paul Wolfsberger, 68, took the M65-69 title in 2:24:41 (11:02/mi), edging Tim McCune by 55 seconds.
• Tim McCune, 67, finished 2nd in 2:25:36 (11:06/mi) — just 4 seconds per mile off the winner's pace.
• Both men picked up places in the men's field over the second half, with McCune gaining 9 spots from the 10K to the finish and Wolfsberger gaining 6.

Just two men lined up in the M65-69 age group at Rocket City, and they made it count. Paul Wolfsberger of Huntsville set the terms from the start, and while the gap at the line — 55 seconds — looks comfortable on paper, both athletes were grinding through the same tough conditions: 70°F, 76% humidity, and a 17 mph wind that made every mile feel longer than it was.

Wolfsberger, at 68, held a steady 11:02-per-mile pace across the full course and closed well, moving from 108th to 102nd in the men's field between the 10K mark and the finish — a sign he was reeling people in rather than hanging on. McCune, a year his junior at 67, matched that closing energy almost identically, gaining 9 men's-field places over the same stretch to finish 104th among the men at 11:06/mi. The two men were running nearly in lockstep on pace; the 55-second gap likely opened in the first half and held firm.

What stands out is how both men finished — not fading, but moving through the field in difficult weather. Wolfsberger takes the age-group win, but McCune made him earn it across every mile of a warm, windy December morning in Huntsville.