Men's 10K: Kiprop Runs Away with It in the Cold

• Victor Kiprop wins in 31:51 — a 5:08/mi pace that put him more than six minutes clear of every other man in a field of 270.
• The battle for 2nd through 5th was decided in under 49 seconds: William Shaver (38:17), Alex Tucker (38:26), Jackson Allen (38:40), and Steven Decker Jr. (38:56) all finished within a tight 39-second window.
• Michael Shaffer, 57, ran 39:32 (6:22/mi) to finish 9th among men — one of the sharpest performances of the morning regardless of age.
• Kendall Dock improved from 7th in 2024 (42:28) to 10th in 2025 (40:14) — a two-minute-plus drop that shows real progression on this course.

With 29°F temperatures and a 16 mph wind cutting through Huntsville, the Rocket City Marathon 10K men's race opened to brutal conditions — and Victor Kiprop made it look easy anyway. The 27-year-old from Junction City, Kansas, crossed in 31:51 at a 5:08/mi clip, a margin so commanding that second place was still more than six and a half minutes behind him. In a field of 270 men, Kiprop simply ran in a different race.

Behind him, the real drama was a four-man scramble for the podium. Huntsville's own William Shaver, 19, claimed 2nd in 38:17, with Madison's Alex Tucker pressing him to the line just nine seconds later in 38:26. Eighteen-year-old Jackson Allen (38:40) and 35-year-old Steven Decker Jr. (38:56) rounded out the top five, separated by a total of 39 seconds across four finishers. Kristopher Marin, 43, of Centerville, Ohio — who also raced to 6th in the men's 5K at this same event — crossed 6th here in 38:59, making his Rocket City double one of the day's quietly impressive stories.

Further back, 57-year-old Michael Shaffer turned in a 39:32 finish good for 9th among the men — a 6:22/mi average that would be respectable at any age. Kendall Dock backed up his 2024 appearance with a 40:14 finish, lopping more than two minutes off his 42:28 from a year ago and moving up from 7th to 10th in the process. Daniel Brunick (44:03, 18th) also returned from 2024, shaving seven seconds off his 44:10 from that edition. The cold was real, but the times told a story of a men's field that showed up ready to race.