Rocket City 10K — F45-49: Spangenberg Pulls Clear in Franklin Speed

• Cheryl Spangenberg won the F45-49 group in 52:10 (8:24/mi), finishing 1:12 ahead of runner-up Beth Raper.
• Places 3 and 4 were decided by three seconds: Cynthia Mitchell (57:31) edged Erin Stewart (57:34) for the final podium spot.
• Places 7, 8, and 9 were separated by just three seconds across the line — Jessica Berkholtz (1:06:28), Amy Walczak (1:06:29), and Claire Nangan (1:06:31) ran nearly identical races.
• The F45-49 field of 20 spanned nearly 55 minutes from first to last finisher.

Cheryl Spangenberg of Franklin, TN set the tone early and never let up, running 8:24/mi across the 10K to claim the F45-49 title by a comfortable 1:12 margin. Beth Raper of Muscle Shoals gave chase in 53:22 (8:35/mi) and secured second, but Spangenberg's pace was simply a level above the rest of the field on a mild December morning in Huntsville.

The battle for third was brief but tense. Cynthia Mitchell and Erin Stewart — both from the Athens/Owens Cross Roads corridor — crossed within three seconds of each other at 57:31 and 57:34 respectively. That trio-second gap was enough to hand Mitchell the bronze, with Stewart left to settle for fourth.

Further back, the race produced one of the day's more remarkable clustering moments. Jessica Berkholtz, Amy Walczak, and Claire Nangan — running out of Gurley and Muscle Shoals — finished 7th, 8th, and 9th within a single three-second window, all clocking 10:42/mi. Three athletes, three towns, one shared moment on the clock.

The back half of the field stretched out considerably, with Terri Counce rounding out the top 15 at 1:19:59 and the final five finishers ranging from 1:35:55 to 1:47:03. Kemberly Williams of Birmingham closed out the F45-49 group at 17:14/mi, completing a field that covered nearly the full spectrum of effort on a cool, breezy Huntsville afternoon.