Local Runner Wins Rocket City Marathon

It was the first Huntsville-area champion since 2009.

When Josh Whitehead came across the finish line at the annual Rocket City Marathon in Huntsville, Ala., he pumped his fist in celebration.

Whitehead clocked 2 hours, 27 minutes, and 25 seconds for the 26.2-mile distance. A resident of Madison, Ala.,  he became the first local champion since David Riddle in 2009.

“I’m doing marvelous,” he said after the race. “The best I ever felt after a marathon.”

The women’s race had an equally interesting storyline with Justyne Mudy of Poland coming across the line first in 2:46:36. At the 2012 event, she met Brandon Mader at the expo and now the two are engaged.

“It’s a different help to have someone love you and support you and want for you the best,” she said of Mader. She admits she will have a little wedding in the U.S. and a big wedding in Poland.

Mader finished fourth in the men’s 25-29 age group. He came in 17 minutes behind Mudy.

For More: AL.com