Rocket City 10K: Shaffer dominates M55-59 in the Huntsville cold

• Michael Shaffer (57, Meridian MS) won M55-59 in 39:32 — a 6:22/mi clip that left the rest of the 17-man field more than 11 minutes behind.
• The gap at the top was staggering: runner-up Matthew Weiss finished in 51:03, meaning Shaffer crossed the line before Weiss had even hit the 8-mile mark of a 10K.
• A three-second battle for the final podium spot: Larry Hershey (54:52) and Howard Jung (54:55) were separated by just three seconds for 3rd and 4th — both clocking 8:50/mi pace on the same frozen morning.
• The field spread wide: from Shaffer's 39:32 to Curtis Smith's 1:46:23, the M55-59 group covered over an hour of racing across 17 finishers.

With 29°F temperatures and a 16 mph wind cutting through Huntsville, conditions were punishing — but Michael Shaffer ran like neither applied to him. His 39:32 finish at 6:22 per mile wasn't just a win; it was a statement. In a 17-man M55-59 field, he finished more than 11 and a half minutes clear of second place — a margin so large it belongs in a different conversation than the rest of the race.

Matthew Weiss of Union, NJ claimed a clear 2nd in 51:03, but the real drama in M55-59 played out just behind him. Huntsville's own Larry Hershey and Madison's Howard Jung ran virtually stride for stride to the line — Hershey edging 3rd in 54:52, Jung settling for 4th in 54:55. Three seconds after 6.2 miles in sub-freezing wind is about as close as it gets without a photo finish.

The middle of the pack was tightly bunched as well. Rob Jordan (56:31), Will Torgerson (57:04), Lenny Chartier (57:28), and David Miller (58:08) all finished within 97 seconds of each other, filling places 5 through 8 in a competitive cluster around the 9:00–9:21/mi range. Behind them, a second group — James Varnavas through Timothy Smith — compressed between 1:03:29 and 1:05:33, six runners within just over two minutes.

At the back, Tony Freeburg (1:19:36) and Chris Russo (1:42:55) and Curtis Smith (1:46:23) had their own battles against the cold and the clock. Every finisher earned it on a sharp December morning in Huntsville.