F35-39: Sarah Crouch Runs Away With It in the Cold

• Crouch wins in 1:18:56 (6:01/mi) — the fastest women's split on the 6.8M–Finish stretch sealed a dominant performance in frigid 29°F conditions.
• 15-minute gap to 2nd: Sylvia Rylee (Huntsville, AL) crossed in 1:34:02, with Alissa Palladino (Atlanta, GA) another 2:20 back in 3rd at 1:36:22.
• Rebecca Girten moved up late: Running the 27th-fastest women's split on the back half, she climbed from 31st to 26th among women to finish 4th in F35-39 at 1:43:39.
• Ramsey Nuss returns: A 2023 finisher here (7th among women in 1:41:49), she crossed 10th in F35-39 this year at 1:56:04 — a different race, a different day.

With 29°F air and a 16 mph wind cutting through Huntsville, the F35-39 field of 92 still delivered some sharp racing at the front. Sarah Crouch (Madison, AL) was simply in another gear. She moved from 2nd to 1st among women during the race and then posted the fastest women's split on the 6.8M-to-Finish stretch to close the deal — finishing in 1:18:56 at a 6:01/mi clip. The gap between Crouch and runner-up Sylvia Rylee was nearly 15 full minutes, which tells you everything about how dominant that effort was.

Rylee (1:34:02, 7:10/mi) and Palladino (1:36:22, 7:21/mi) rounded out the podium, with Rylee posting the 15th-fastest women's closing split and Palladino the 17th. Both faded slightly in the women's standings over the second half — Rylee slipping from 11th to 12th among women, Palladino from 13th to 16th — but they held their positions in F35-39 comfortably. Girten, meanwhile, ran the opposite trajectory, picking up five spots in the women's field over the final stretch to land 4th at 1:43:39.

Further back, the race tightened considerably. Kathryn Gray (1:58:58), Liz Heroux (1:59:09), and Ashley Miniet (1:59:13) were separated by just 15 seconds across 12th, 13th, and 14th place. And Ramsey Nuss (Birmingham, AL) made her return to this race two years after finishing 7th among women in 1:41:49 in 2023, coming home 10th in F35-39 this time in 1:56:04.