Rocket City Half Marathon: Courtney Ballard rules the F25-29 field

• Ballard wins in 1:38:07 — a 7:29/mi pace that put nearly five minutes of clear air between her and runner-up Rachel Strons (1:42:53).
• Strong finish from Strons: her 16th-fastest women's split on the 10K-to-finish stretch held off a closing Susanna Fields, who moved from 21st to 18th among women in that same stretch.
• Fields surges late: the Birmingham 29-year-old posted the 18th-fastest women's split on the back half to claim 3rd in the age group with a 1:49:10.
• Kathleen and Rebecca Coffey nearly share the podium step: Kathleen (1:52:16) edged Rebecca Mulholland (1:52:55) by 39 seconds for 4th, with both holding their positions among the women steady through the finish.

Courtney Ballard of Tupelo, Mississippi made her intentions clear from the start. Running at 7:29 per mile across 13.1 miles in 59°F overcast conditions, she was never seriously threatened — her margin of victory over Strons was 4:46, a gap that tells its own story. She also posted the 10th-fastest women's split on the 10K-to-finish segment, meaning she wasn't just coasting to the tape; she was still racing hard in the back half.

Rachel Strons, racing on home turf in Huntsville, was a comfortable second at 1:42:53 and 7:51 per mile. Her 16th-fastest women's closing split kept the gap to Fields manageable — Susanna Fields finished 6:17 back of Strons but was one of the more eye-catching stories in the group. The Birmingham runner moved from 21st to 18th among women over the final stretch, clocking the 18th-fastest women's split on that segment to secure 3rd in 1:49:10.

Behind the podium, the race tightened up considerably. Kathleen Coffey (1:52:16) and Rebecca Mulholland (1:52:55) were separated by just 39 seconds at 4th and 5th, both running steady races that held their women's field positions unchanged from the 10K mark. Madison Hendley rounded out the top six in 1:54:41. Across a 41-finisher F25-29 field, the spread from Ballard's winning time to 20th place (Cassidy Goble, 2:22:48) was a full 44 minutes — a reminder of just how wide the talent band runs in one of the race's most competitive age groups.