Madison’s Sarah Crouch wins female division of Cotton Row Run
HUNTSVILLE – For most of the 1,750 runners who completed the 46th running of the Bill Penney Toyota of Huntsville Cotton Row Run 10K Memorial Day Race, it was a day of celebration of just to finish, not to win. For many others, who look to the annual downtown Huntsville race as a competitive outing. The day was not a record setter as at race time, the temperature was 68-degrees with 100-percent humidity making the air oppressive and heavy and actually difficult to breath.
Reid Buchanan, a professional runner, battled his way through the sticky and clammy air conditions with a race-winning time of 29-minutes, 17-seconds to earn the 2026 Cotton Row Run title. Buchanan, 33, from Kansas City, stretched across the finish line almost a minute before runner-up Sam Chelanga, 41 of Fayetteville, N.C. with a time of 30:25, and third place performer Ahmed Ibrahim, 26, of Huntsville who posted a time of 30:39.
Madison residents, comprised of 339 runners in the race, were led by Carson Miller, 37 who was 17th overall with a time of 35:29 also almost a minute ahead of second place Jake Ryan, 18, who finished at 36:19.
In the women’s division, constant top performer Sarah Crouch of Madison took the title with an 18th overall place and time of 35:55, some 28 seconds in front of runner-up Emma Hardman, 29, of Huntsville whose time was 36:23. The second female finisher from Madison was Claire Deaton who completed the suffocating- type air conditions with a time of 42:54.
Individual age-group winners from Madison and close areas included: Male 17-19, Jake Bryan, 18, 36:21; Male 35-39, Carson Miller, 37, 35:28; Female 35-39, Angela Lopez, 39 (Harvest), 43:05; Female 50-54, Veronica Sune, 50, 51:09.
The Cotton Row Run 5K race, which was completed by 1,367 runners, 280 of which were Madison residents, was won by 16-year old Kaden Pease of Spring Hill, Tenn., who posted a winning time of 16:25.12 to easily outdistance Erick Kigen of Huntsville. The 37-year old Kigen ran a time of 17:12.61. Madison’s John Litavec, 17, was fourth at 17:32.52. The best Madison female runners in the 5K were Brooke Volz, 31, with a time of 24:20.13 followed by Kalena Stubb, 16, who ran 24:59.73.
The overall participation in this year’s races was up around 300 over last year’s total. The race director again this year was Paul Moeller with huge support from hundreds of volunteers and support from the Huntsville Track Club.
