Rocket City Half Marathon: Carreno blazes to M35-39 crown

• Alan Carreno won the M35-39 group in 1:13:33 (5:37/mi) — a commanding 17-minute, 26-second gap over 2nd place.
• Eric Thomas (Huntsville) ran the strongest closing leg among the M35-39 field, posting the 18th-fastest 8M→Finish split among men to move from 20th to 16th in the men's field and secure 2nd in 1:30:59.
• Tyler Craig and Walt Reed were separated by just 15 seconds at 3rd and 4th — 1:38:08 vs. 1:38:23 — after 13.1 miles.
• Andrew Bothwell and Robert Browning finished within 8 seconds of each other at 5th and 6th, both clocking 1:41-something at 7:46/mi.

Alan Carreno made the trip from Las Vegas count. Running at 5:37 per mile across 13.1 miles on a mild, overcast Huntsville morning, the 35-year-old didn't just win the M35-39 group — he obliterated it. His 1:13:33 was also the 2nd-fastest men's split on the 8M-to-Finish stretch, meaning he wasn't just coasting to the tape; he was still pressing hard deep into the race. No one in the group came within 17 minutes of him.

Eric Thomas, racing on home turf in Huntsville, gave the crowd something to watch in the back half. He moved from 20th to 16th in the men's field between the 8-mile mark and the finish, the 18th-fastest men's closing split in the race, and locked up 2nd in the M35-39 group at 1:30:59 (6:56/mi). It was a composed, well-executed second half.

The real drama in this group played out at 3rd and 4th. Tyler Craig (Ann Arbor) and Walt Reed (Birmingham) ran the entire race in proximity and finished that way — Craig in 1:38:08, Reed in 1:38:23, a margin of 15 seconds after more than 13 miles. Craig moved up six spots in the men's field over the closing miles; Reed slipped one. Same pace on paper (7:30/mi), different trajectories, and Craig took the podium spot. Just behind them, Bothwell and Browning traded blows all the way to the line, finishing 5th and 6th within 8 seconds of each other at 7:46/mi.