F40-44: Vieselmeyer dominates in the Huntsville cold

• Julie Vieselmeyer won the F40-44 group in 1:33:58 (7:10/mi), finishing 11th among all women — a commanding margin of more than five minutes over the field.
• Kelly Burt and Jennifer Hom were separated by just 2:13 for 2nd and 3rd, running 1:39:04 and 1:41:17 respectively.
• Jessica Troyer made the most aggressive move of the group in the final stretch, climbing from 34th to 29th among women on the 6.8M→Finish leg — the 28th-fastest closing split among women.
• Holli Salamone also surged late, moving from 42nd to 36th among women over the same stretch to lock up 5th in the F40-44 group.

Racing in 29°F with a 16 mph wind cutting through Huntsville, the F40-44 field of 98 was no place for the faint of heart — and Julie Vieselmeyer made that abundantly clear. The Madison, AL runner posted a 7:10/mi average to finish in 1:33:58, a gap of 5:06 over Kelly Burt. She also ticked upward among the women's field over the closing miles, moving from 12th to 11th, and her 14th-fastest closing split among women confirmed she wasn't coasting to the line.

Behind her, Burt (Albany, OH) and Jennifer Hom (Atlanta, GA) ran a clean 2nd-and-3rd battle, with Hom's 1:41:17 keeping her within striking distance but never quite bridging the gap. Both women finished in the top 23 among all women — strong performances in conditions that punished anyone who went out too fast.

The most compelling late-race story belonged to Jessica Troyer of Huntsville, who picked up five spots among women — from 34th to 29th — over the 6.8M-to-finish segment, good for the 28th-fastest closing split in the women's field. Salamone mirrored that pattern, moving six spots in the same stretch to round out the top five. In a race where the cold and wind made it easy to fade, those two found another gear when it mattered.