Rocket City 5K: Kiser dominates the M75-79 field

• Ernie Kiser won the M75-79 group in 24:13 — a 7:48/mi pace in 29°F wind-driven cold.
• Kiser finished nearly 8 minutes clear of runner-up James Johnson (32:05), making it a decisive victory from the front.
• Johnson and Soule were separated by a striking 20:41 — the M75-79 field spread across nearly half an hour of racing.

Three men lined up for the M75-79 race on a frigid December morning in Huntsville — 29°F with a 16 mph wind making every stride feel earned. Ernie Kiser, 77, from Madison, Alabama, wasted no time asserting himself, clicking off 7:48-per-mile splits to finish in 24:13. At that pace and in those conditions, it was a performance that commanded the field from wire to wire.

James Johnson, 75, making the trip from Chickamauga, Georgia, claimed second in 32:05 — a solid 10:20/mi effort in its own right, but Kiser had already put nearly eight minutes of daylight between them by the finish line. Edward Soule, 77, of Owens Cross Roads, Alabama, rounded out the three-man group in 52:46, completing the course at 16:59/mi.

The M75-79 field may have been small, but the spread told a clear story: Kiser was in a different gear entirely on this blustery Saturday, turning in a finish time that would make runners decades younger take notice.