Rocket City Half Marathon M70-74: Pavlin Pulls Clear for a Solo Victory

• Mark Pavlin (age 73, Kingsport, TN) won the M70-74 group in 2:14:25, averaging 10:15/mile across 13.1 miles.
• Rick Stockton (age 71, Huntsville, AL) finished 2nd in 2:26:45 — a gap of 12 minutes and 20 seconds between the only two finishers.
• Both men gained places in the men's field over the second half: Pavlin moved from 212th to 201st among men on the 8M→Finish stretch; Stockton climbed from 266th to 248th over the same segment.

In a two-man M70-74 field at the 2024 Rocket City Marathon Half Marathon, Mark Pavlin left no doubt about the outcome. The 73-year-old from Kingsport held a 10:15/mile average across the course — mild conditions at 59°F and a light 9 mph wind offered no real excuse for soft times — and crossed in 2:14:25 to claim the age-group title outright.

The margin between Pavlin and Rick Stockton was decisive: 12 minutes and 20 seconds separated them at the finish line. Stockton, the 71-year-old Huntsville local, completed the race in 2:26:45 at an 11:12/mile pace — a respectable effort in its own right, but never close enough to threaten.

What both men share is a strong finish. Each picked up places among the men's field on the 8M-to-Finish segment — Pavlin moving from 212th to 201st, Stockton from 266th to 248th — suggesting neither faded badly in the back half. For athletes in their early seventies covering 13.1 miles, that kind of late-race composure is worth noting.

Pavlin takes the M70-74 title, Stockton the runner-up spot. Two starters, two finishers, no drama about the order — just a pair of septuagenarians getting it done in Huntsville.