Rocket City 10K: Isabel Wahl tops the F0-14 field

• Isabel Wahl, 10, of Chattanooga, TN, won the F0-14 age group in 1:10:38 (11:22/mi).
• Melody Anderson, 13, of Kankakee, IL, finished 2nd in 1:13:56 (11:54/mi).
• The gap between them: 3 minutes, 18 seconds.

Two young runners toed the line in Huntsville on a warm, breezy December morning — 70°F, 17 mph winds, and 76% humidity making for conditions that would test anyone, let alone athletes still in grade school.

It was the younger of the two who came out on top. Isabel Wahl, just 10 years old and making the trip from Chattanooga, covered the 10K at an 11:22-per-mile clip to finish in 1:10:38 — a composed, steady effort that held up through the wind and warmth. Winning an age group at 10 is no small thing, and Wahl delivered.

Melody Anderson, 13, from Kankakee, Illinois, crossed in 1:13:56 at an 11:54-per-mile pace, keeping the margin respectable at 3:18. For a field of two, that's a genuine gap — Wahl was clearly the stronger runner on the day, and Anderson's finish time is nothing to dismiss in those conditions either.

A small field, but a real race — two young athletes who showed up, ran 6.2 miles in December heat, and earned every step.