M20-24 Half Marathon: Temple Runs Away With It in Huntsville

• Nic Temple won the M20-24 group in 1:16:05 (5:48/mi), more than six minutes clear of runner-up Stephen Rhoades (1:22:09).
• Rhoades held 6th among men at the 8-mile mark and pushed up to 5th by the finish, posting the 5th-fastest closing split in the men's field on that final stretch.
• Kevin Portinga and Samuel Womack staged the tightest battle of the day — separated by just 8 seconds (1:36:34 vs. 1:36:42) at 3rd and 4th.
• The M20-24 field spanned nearly 1 hour 45 minutes from Temple's winning time to Jakub Slowik's 3:01:14, reflecting a wide range of ability across 19 finishers.

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Nic Temple made the M20-24 race his own from the gun. Running 5:48 per mile through mild December air in Huntsville, the 23-year-old from Trussville, AL crossed in 1:16:05 — a margin so commanding that second place was never close. He also posted the 3rd-fastest closing split (8 miles to finish) among all men in the race, meaning he wasn't just surviving the back half; he was hunting people down.

Stephen Rhoades, just 20 years old and making the trip from Wentzville, MO, earned a clear silver with his 1:22:09. He moved up a spot among the men's field over that same closing stretch, which tells you his legs were still working when others were fading. At 6:16 per mile, he ran a composed, honest race for someone his age.

The real drama in M20-24 played out for the bronze. Kevin Portinga (Grand Rapids, MI) and Samuel Womack (Thompsons Station, TN) were effectively racing as a pair — both finishing in the 1:36-range, just 8 seconds apart. Portinga had the edge at 7:22/mi to Womack's 7:23/mi, and their closing splits told a similar story: Portinga ran the 31st-fastest men's split on the back half, Womack the 34th. Portinga held on, but it was close enough that either could have taken it with a slightly different final mile.

Behind the top four, Keaton Watts (5th, 1:41:19) and Stephen Edds (6th, 1:43:21) rounded out a competitive middle pack, while the back half of the field stretched out considerably — a reminder that 13.1 miles tests patience and pacing as much as raw speed.