Rocket City Half Marathon — F35-39: Filiberto runs away with it at 7:47 pace

• Amanda Filiberto won the F35-39 group in 1:42:02 (7:47/mi), finishing more than 4:48 ahead of runner-up Virginia Pollard.
• Pollard (1:46:50) edged Kimberley Meinema (1:47:22) for 2nd — just 32 seconds separating them at the line.
• Pollard was the strongest finisher on the back half, posting the 15th-fastest women's split from 8M to the finish while climbing from 20th to 17th among women; Meinema slipped from 15th to 18th on that same stretch.
• A tight cluster formed just under two hours: Jennifer Willoughby (1:59:30) and Rachel Evans (1:59:38) were separated by only 8 seconds for 8th and 9th.

Amanda Filiberto, 35, from Gainesville, FL, turned in a dominant performance on a mild December morning in Huntsville — 59°F and overcast, about as good as Alabama gets in December. Her 7:47/mi average was a full 22 seconds per mile faster than anyone else on the podium, and her 1:42:02 wasn't just a comfortable win; it was a statement. She did cede one spot among women in the back half of the race, but her 13th-fastest women's split from 8M to the finish still reflected a controlled, confident close.

The real drama on the podium played out between Virginia Pollard of Bremen, GA, and Kimberley Meinema of Fort Wayne, IN. Meinema held the edge through 8 miles — running 15th among women to Pollard's 20th — but Pollard turned in the stronger finishing kick. Her 15th-fastest women's split on the 8M-to-finish stretch was sharper than Meinema's 30th-fastest, and that gap in late-race speed translated directly into the 32-second margin at the line.

Behind the podium, Nicole Deford (4th, 1:51:12) and Adrienne Robertson (5th, 1:52:14) held their positions steadily through the finish, with Robertson — a local from Gurley, AL — maintaining 33rd among women from start to finish. The sub-two-hour pack was competitive and crowded: six finishers landed between 1:52 and 2:00, with Willoughby and Evans making it especially tight at the back of that group. Across 56 finishers in the F35-39 field, the depth was real.