Race Information

Race	Location	My Distance
Rocket City Marathon	Huntsville, Alabama, USA	26.2 mi (42.2KM)
Date	Distances Offered	Website
December 14, 2025; 7:00AM start	26.2 mi (42.2km), 13.1 mi (21.1km), 10K (6.1 mi), 5K (3.1 mi), 1 mi walk	Rocket City Marathon
Registration Open	Registration Closed	Did the puppet run?
Not sure - not yet posted for 2026	Did not - you could register up to the race date	No

My Goals

Goal	Description	Met?
1	Finish	Yes!
2	Run to at least mile marker 13.1 before run/walk	Almost - made it to about 12 miles

Conditions

Horrible. Today was horrible. This was by far the coldest marathon I’ve ever run – and I did not pack everything I needed to. The weather was 28°F (-2°C), and for the Deep South, rather than getting warmer, it just got colder – due to wind chill – as the race went on. Luckily, it was a bright day, but it didn’t make us warm. The windchill at points was brutal.

Race Day Kit

Brooks weatherized Ghosts; Under Armour tights – leggings and shirt; Feetures mid-calf socks; Nike shorts; Staten Isle Half long sleeve shirt; 2018 NYC Marathon fleece, Craft gloves and hat; Sucio gaiter

Most of the gear was excellent. I survived. But, my hands struggled, and the New Balance fleece was not the right choice – but I survived.

The race was well-prepared with heat blankets and a nice towel at the indoor finish line.

Training

Last Race: November 2, 2025 (6 weeks)

Total Runs: 6

Total Miles Run: 30.39

The above stats are a joke – this is not acceptable training, but alas, life gets in the way. These weeks were intense with work as well as a vacation – to frigid Berlin. I got one run on in Berlin, but that is all I could muster given how cold it was. My trainer gave me about two weeks off after NYC, so I appreciated it, and super proud that my training somehow got me to finish faster than NYC!

Race Strategy

I honestly thought this one would take somewhere north of 5 hours. I knew I would be able to make at least 10 miles (10km) easily, and then I feared needing to walk the rest of the race. My longest training run was only 8 miles since NYC, and so I wasn’t quite sure how my body would do. Amazingly, it did pretty well, and I internally set a goal early on to get to 13, and then, for some reason, in planning, I didn’t THINK about run/walking – just that I would walk some 16 miles? Not sure why that didn’t come to me.

Expo & Gear

Pretty mighty expo for this race. It was held inside the Von Braun Center in downtown Huntsville, and had hours open on Friday – Saturday. It was a huge space, and it was well organized, with everything labeled overhead – Bib Pickup, T-Shirts, Vendors. It had a wide range of vendors, with most everyone related to health/fitness. Nothing out of the ordinary (maybe the book bus didn’t relate, maybe they had running books inside?). Fleet Feet is a big sponsor, good booth with gels available, and I was able to get about 6 gels for just above $18.

Race Review

I think this race is beautiful. I think this race is really well-routed to take you through some good sites of Huntsville. I think all of this because throughout the race, I was not fully able to enjoy and really had to focus on ensuring my body was warm enough to make it through this race. With a hat and gaiter up at times, it was difficult to take things in, and it was nearly impossible to use my phone as a camera – kicking myself I didn’t have my Insta360, but a good note for keeping notes in the future, especially during cold races.

So, this race was great. The expo was smooth and easy, and the race handbook (PDF emailed ahead of the race) outlined things like parking and the start (one piece of advice – add the start to the parking map for ease).

Obviously, the organizers couldn’t do anything about the weather (except have held it the day before when it was 60°F (15°C)), and despite the weather, everyone was out in full force and having fun. Aid stations were mostly well-equipped – I’m assuming they had some refills coming through, because there was at least one station that only had Gatorade, and it was running low (I was maybe exactly half in the pack – and there were nearly 6,000 people between the half and full marathons.

The course was pretty spectacular – there was only a slight section of the course that was along the same road, and I got to see the elites coming through at my time. You started east of downtown, ran a big loop back to downtown then west out to US Space Center. The first part was mainly neighborhoods – and the race designer did a nice job of incorporating some cool Huntsville things. We ran behind Eggbeater Jesus’s church, we ran through the Galaxy of Lights, US Space Center (video on insta), and a nice greenway for a bit.

The two races on Sunday were the marathon and half marathon. There was a 6:00am early start, 7:00am marathon start, and 9:00am half marathon start. After you finish the first half of the marathon, the course merges with half marathoners, and at some point you catch up to the early start folks. Whew – amazing, amazing power and energy. Some of these folks were really moving through walking and quite old, so more power to them!

The course was nearly 100% the road – and the roads were mostly good, nothing too notable, except there was one section of one neighborhood that had been re-paved within the past year, and that was smooth and amazing. Definitely some unevenness across some roads, but you can manage to find the flat part.

Volunteers were at major intersections – and traffic is still moving. There were few instances where cars were close and on the same two-lane road. Most stayed off the running route, and all major intersections had volunteers or police supporting to move cars along. They were really good, and there were no vehicular issues I experienced during the race.

There are virtually no crowds out – there were only a handful of people outside their homes, and they were great and nice. Other spectators were supporting a runner. Oddly enough, I ran into a woman who I had participated in a statewide club in high school – we said hi at the start, and made a plan to meet up over the holidays. Another notable moment was the family inside their warm home, cheering at runners.

Aid Stations were fairly plentiful, they didn’t seem predictably placed (some between, some right after the mile marker), but I think there must have been a 1.5 or 2 mile cadence. Again, some seemed to be running low at times. Aid stations all had Gatorade, most did have water, but some only Gatorade (or PowerAde?), and there were maybe three or so with Gu brand fuel options. Each aid station had portos, usually at least 2, and there was always about 2 people waiting. Note: portos on the official course are yellow and each one I stepped in had toilet paper; there were a few construction site portos and some were locked and some were not – take your own chance on those!

Miles 1 to 13.1 (2:11:48)

Whew, the first part was distinctly an attempt at running the whole time. I think I made it to mile 12 and did have to take a slight break. The start was just marathon runners, and it spacious enough to really enjoy the course and have your space, but not be alone. Packs of people ran a lot, and mostly everyone was running in the first half. Funny enough, the most crowded moment was right out of the start, there was a truck in the roadway, spectators on the edges, and so it made everyone build some momentum, then slow down.

This part of the race started in front of the Von Braun Center in downtown Huntsville, ran through Old Towne to start (great homes), then really a big circle goes southeast through some neighborhoods. Nice to see a mix of architecture, and there was good energy. As you

Miles 13.1 to 20 (3:32:03)

For this second part, I ended up doing about 3 minutes walk and 7 minute run. As you came into this part of the route, it got more crowded as you first started to see half marathon people, then many walkers who I believe started with an early start. So, the course gets a little more crowded, but it wasn’t awful and there was enough space to go around people and not feel tight. Roads sizes varied, and there was one section leading up to the US Space Center where you ran in the bike lane – and it was easy to get around groups of people by jumping onto the main road as no one was driving in this area.

You hit downtown and then head west toward the US Space Center. You start to get a view of the rockets around mile 17, and then mile 20 is fully on the US Space Center, where you get to run on the grounds and see all of the old artifacts – military vehicles, rockets, planes, etc. This was truly a hallmark moment for this race, and beautifully placed for the race. It made complete sense running under the replicator rocket as to why this race is the Rocket City Marathon.

Miles 20 to 26.2 (4:44:13)

Mile 20 takes you through the rest of the US Space Center, then into the Galaxy of Lights – some hills through here, and I kept up the 3-7 walk/run until about mile 22, where I walked a little more then pushed myself to do 2 minute walk / 3 minute run. It paid off and I beat 15 minutes off my time from NYC – amazingly.

This part of the course took you through a little greenway on its way back to downtown Huntsville. For the final stretch, you pass by the Huntsville Art Museum, and through their little lake of Christmas trees – what a way to end, then you swing by the Von Braun Center and those last .2 miles takes you right into the expo center and you finish, and the volunteers wrap you in a warm blanket and you get your medal.

Post Race Experience and Meal

Great opportunity for a photo right at the finish line. You swing out into the open, and they had a few areas set up. Volunteers handed a water bottle immediately after the finish line, and they had some granola bars, bananas laying out, and a few lines with hot food. Hot food included pretzels, grilled cheese sandwiches, chicken tenders, and a variety of soup. The center was nice and warm as well.

Immediately after, I had a sweet latte and a chicken biscuit and dipped it into some chicken sausage gravy. For dinner, I may continue to eat some fried Southern food – because why not when you are in Hunstville?

Costs

Total: 1,154.07
Race Fee: $120
AirBNB: 443.01
Car Rental: 168.54
AirFare: 308.96
Food: 113.14