Rocket City 5K: Dawson dominates the M65-69 field

• David Dawson won the M65-69 group in 24:51 — more than five minutes clear of the field at a 7:60/mi pace.
• Bob Nicholson and Parker Bond staged the closest battle of the day, separated by just 1:23 for 2nd and 3rd.
• Ekkehard Bonatz, at 69 the oldest finisher in the group, crossed 4th in 34:55 — the only competitor to represent that age.
• Eight men finished in M65-69, with times ranging from 24:51 to 50:31 across the group.

David Dawson made the M65-69 race his own from the gun. The Cincinnati native's 24:51 — averaging 7:60 per mile — wasn't just a win; it was a statement. No one else in the group broke 30 minutes, leaving Nicholson's 30:11 runner-up finish more than five minutes back. On a mild December morning in Huntsville, 59°F with a light breeze, Dawson ran the kind of race that makes the rest of the field feel like they were on a different course.

Behind him, the real drama unfolded between Bob Nicholson and Parker Bond. The local Huntsville runner Nicholson held 2nd at 30:11, with Bond of Alabaster giving chase and finishing in 31:34 — a gap of 1:23 that kept things interesting across the final stretch. Ekkehard Bonatz, the group's oldest competitor at 69, ran a composed 34:55 to claim 4th, while Jack Mulqueen (39:05) and Tim Albright (40:48) rounded out the middle of the pack, separated by under two minutes.

Billy Nolas of Tallahassee crossed 8th in 50:31, completing all eight finishers in M65-69. Thomas Devine's recorded time of 9:46:29 stands apart from the rest of the group's results and almost certainly reflects a timing or data anomaly rather than his actual 5K effort. Every other man who toed the line finished — and Dawson finished fastest by a margin that left no doubt.