Tri State
Woolfitt: 'Usually the best runners show up at the last minute'
Pre-registration on record pace for fifth annual Run 2 Read Half Marathon
2009 winners: Jaron Hawkins, Frostburg (1:12:15.9); Heather Parks, Bruceton Mills (1:28:19.9)
Allegany County-area pregistered runners include Rhonda Johns, Mike Wagus and Joe McQuade and Shauna McQuade, all of Cumberland; and Tina Mowery and Todd Mowery, both of Ellerslie.
By Kevin Spradlin
TriStateRunnur.com
FAIRMONT, W.Va., Jan. 2 – Last year, a trio of the top female runners from the University of Illinois took a road trip and participated in the Run 2 Read Half Marathon at Prickett's Fort State Park. Two of them finished second and third, respectively, in the women's competition.
Jim Woolfitt, race director for the fifth annual Run 2 Read Half Marathon in Fairmont, W.Va., said it's exciting just to watch who will show up for the 13.1-mile distance contested on two of the area's most popular railtrails.
“Usually the best runners show up at the last minute,” Woolfitt said late Saturday, noting 130 runners were pre-registered for the event scheduled for Saturday, Jan. 9. Entrants can still get the early-bird registration fee of $20 if a paper form is postmarked by Monday, Jan. 4, or if they register online at www.runningintheusa.com/r2rhm.
Afterward, the entry fee increases to $25 for the event, proceeds from which benefit the Literacy Volunteers of Marion County. Woolfitt declined to state how much money this race, and another June event, has raised for literacy efforts over the past few years.
He said that's in part because some runners expect to run for free. Recently, Woolfitt opened up an envelope with an entry form – but no check or money order.
“I guess I'll be calling him,” Woolfitt said. “I'll assume the best, that he made an honest mistake.”
Last year, nearly 225 runners registered for an event that turned out to be staged under less than desirable conditions. And that's putting it mildly. Woolfitt himself said they were “just miserable.”
“The weather was about 40 degrees, raining, which I think is about the worst conditions,” Woolfitt said. “We had runners from Ohio that simply didn't feel it was safe to drive in.”
The cold conditions doubled the number of dropouts and no-shows to about 40 from 20 Woolfitt and race volunteers see regularly. A detailed forecast is not yet available, but Accuweather.com is predicting a high of 29 degrees next Saturday with a wind chill value of 15 degrees and “cold” with periods of snow.
Contact Kevin at run@mountainMDmarathon.org.
Pre-registration on record pace for fifth annual Run 2 Read Half Marathon
2009 winners: Jaron Hawkins, Frostburg (1:12:15.9); Heather Parks, Bruceton Mills (1:28:19.9)
Allegany County-area pregistered runners include Rhonda Johns, Mike Wagus and Joe McQuade and Shauna McQuade, all of Cumberland; and Tina Mowery and Todd Mowery, both of Ellerslie.
By Kevin Spradlin
TriStateRunnur.com
FAIRMONT, W.Va., Jan. 2 – Last year, a trio of the top female runners from the University of Illinois took a road trip and participated in the Run 2 Read Half Marathon at Prickett's Fort State Park. Two of them finished second and third, respectively, in the women's competition.
Jim Woolfitt, race director for the fifth annual Run 2 Read Half Marathon in Fairmont, W.Va., said it's exciting just to watch who will show up for the 13.1-mile distance contested on two of the area's most popular railtrails.
“Usually the best runners show up at the last minute,” Woolfitt said late Saturday, noting 130 runners were pre-registered for the event scheduled for Saturday, Jan. 9. Entrants can still get the early-bird registration fee of $20 if a paper form is postmarked by Monday, Jan. 4, or if they register online at www.runningintheusa.com/r2rhm.
Afterward, the entry fee increases to $25 for the event, proceeds from which benefit the Literacy Volunteers of Marion County. Woolfitt declined to state how much money this race, and another June event, has raised for literacy efforts over the past few years.
He said that's in part because some runners expect to run for free. Recently, Woolfitt opened up an envelope with an entry form – but no check or money order.
“I guess I'll be calling him,” Woolfitt said. “I'll assume the best, that he made an honest mistake.”
Last year, nearly 225 runners registered for an event that turned out to be staged under less than desirable conditions. And that's putting it mildly. Woolfitt himself said they were “just miserable.”
“The weather was about 40 degrees, raining, which I think is about the worst conditions,” Woolfitt said. “We had runners from Ohio that simply didn't feel it was safe to drive in.”
The cold conditions doubled the number of dropouts and no-shows to about 40 from 20 Woolfitt and race volunteers see regularly. A detailed forecast is not yet available, but Accuweather.com is predicting a high of 29 degrees next Saturday with a wind chill value of 15 degrees and “cold” with periods of snow.
Contact Kevin at run@mountainMDmarathon.org.
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