Rocket City Half Marathon M65-69: Michael Smith Dominates a Seven-Man Field

• Michael Smith won the M65-69 group in 1:53:59 (8:42/mi) — more than 31 minutes clear of 2nd place.
• Greg Heaton (2nd, 2:25:45) and Richard Galkowski (3rd, 2:29:04) were separated by just 3 minutes 19 seconds.
• Billy Nolas (4th, 2:37:53) and Jim Floyd (5th, 2:38:28) ran nearly identical races, finishing just 35 seconds apart.
• The seven-man M65-69 field spanned 1 hour 24 minutes from first to last finisher.

Michael Smith made this one look straightforward. The 65-year-old from Owens Cross Roads, AL, crossed in 1:53:59 at an 8:42/mi clip — a pace that left the rest of the M65-69 field well behind. His margin of victory over runner-up Greg Heaton was 31 minutes and 46 seconds, which is less a gap than a chasm. On the back half of the course (8M to Finish), Smith posted the 95th-fastest split among the men in the broader field — a sign he was still moving with genuine purpose deep into the race.

Behind Smith, the real racing happened. Greg Heaton, 68, of Madison, IN, held off Richard Galkowski, 67, of Arab, AL, by 3:19 — respectable separation, but both men were working hard in the final miles. Heaton faded slightly from 237th to 243rd among the men on the back half, while Galkowski barely budged (258th to 259th), suggesting a steadier closing effort from Galkowski even if the gap didn't quite close.

Fourth and fifth place produced the afternoon's tightest finish. Billy Nolas (66, Tallahassee, FL) and Jim Floyd (65, Birmingham, AL) ran nearly in lockstep, finishing in 2:37:53 and 2:38:28 respectively — 35 seconds between them after 13.1 miles. Notably, Floyd actually moved in the opposite direction on the back half, dropping from 215th to 299th among the men, while Nolas gained ground from 304th to 294th. A meaningful late surge from Nolas that Floyd couldn't quite answer.

Dean Sides (6th, 2:41:47) rounded out the main pack, and Ahmad Baghal (7th, 3:18:04) finished on his own terms in 3:18:04 — nearly 37 minutes behind Sides, but completing 13.1 miles at 65 years old on a cool December morning in Huntsville is its own accomplishment.