Rocket City Half: Peters dominates the F25-29 field in frigid Huntsville

• Sarah Peters (1:31:53, 7:01/mi) won the F25-29 age group by more than eight minutes — and finished 9th among all women on a 29°F morning.
• Rachel Joffrion (1:40:09, 7:38/mi) took 2nd, running on home turf in Huntsville — one year after finishing 2nd among all women at this same race in 1:39:19.
• Chelsey Burks (1:44:31, 7:58/mi) claimed 3rd, holding 30th among women at the finish.
• Faith Oneill (1:47:00, 8:10/mi) and Tia Larsen-Calcano (1:47:57, 8:14/mi) were separated by just 57 seconds for 4th and 5th — but Oneill faded in the back half, dropping from 27th to 35th among women while Larsen-Calcano slid from 32nd to 38th, both giving up ground on the 6.8M-to-finish stretch.

Sarah Peters made the frigid Huntsville morning look almost comfortable. Running at a 7:01/mi clip through 29°F temperatures and a 16 mph wind, the Nashville 26-year-old put up a 1:31:53 that was good for 9th among all women in the field — and left the rest of the F25-29 group more than eight minutes in her wake. Her 13th-fastest women's split on the 6.8M-to-finish leg confirmed she didn't coast it in, either.

Rachel Joffrion made the podium feel like familiar territory. The Huntsville local crossed in 1:40:09 for 2nd in the age group — and she knows this finish line well, having placed 2nd among all women here in 2024 with a 1:39:19. This year she's racing as a top F25-29 finisher rather than an overall podium contender, but her 7:38/mi effort on a bitter December morning is nothing to dismiss. Her 23rd-fastest women's split on the closing stretch kept her comfortably clear of Chelsey Burks (1:44:31), who ran a steady 7:58/mi to lock up 3rd.

The battle for 4th and 5th was the age group's most compelling subplot. Faith Oneill and Tia Larsen-Calcano were within striking distance of each other all race, but both faded over the final miles — Oneill dropping from 27th to 35th among women, Larsen-Calcano from 32nd to 38th. Oneill held on for 4th in 1:47:00, with Larsen-Calcano 57 seconds back in 1:47:57. Behind them, a dense pack filled out the field: Kristen Coffey (6th, 1:50:37), Malia Kubia (7th, 1:51:05), and Anna Glidewell (8th, 1:51:15) were separated by just 38 seconds across three spots, with 131 women ultimately finishing in the age group.