Friday, July 2, 2004 -- Latrobe, PA
Rolling Rock 5M Run (iPO?Event?Id#:?6286)
Story and photos by Don Parks

[Details] [Coverage]
[Overall Results] [Results by Class]
Pictures: [Set 1] [Set 2] [Set 3] [Set 4] [Set 5] [Set 6] [Set 7] [Set 8] [Set 9]
[Set 10] [Set 11] [Set 12] [Set 13] [Set 14] [Set 15] [Set 16] [Set 17] [Set 18]
Past Event Coverage: [2000] [2001] [2002] [2003]

Hitting the hot and humid streets of Latrobe

As they always say, "It's not the heat, it's the humidity." With almost no wind the annual Rolling Rock 5 mile run through Latrobe worked up a sweat on everyone, even the spectators. But with close to 700 registered runners (and walkers) there was not slowing down the fun, or the competition.

The course winds through the streets of Latrobe, past the actual brewery, and eventually returns on the same streets that started the race. A few hills are thrown in the mix as you finally finish with a short sprint on the Latrobe Memorial Stadium track.

Seen making his way around the outskirts of the stadium was Pittsburgh's Jeff Comdy. He was able to distance himself from the competition as the 21-year-old finished alone for the win at 26:23.

Some pageantry to go with the racing

Comdy's closest rivals where a pair of Greensburg runners in 22-year-old Pat McGuire and 21-year-old T.J. Black. McGuire crossed the line for second at 26:47 while Black took third at 27:01.

On the women's side it was Morgantown, WV's Heather Bury returning to take another win. In 2001 Bury set the women's course record at 28:40 and this was her first year back. The 29-year-old won easily even though she was a good bit off her record pace at 30:08.

The real battle was for second place as home town favorite Gina McGee raced Franklin's Leah Shouey. In the end it was the 21-year-old Shouey getting the edge over the 39-year-old McGee. Their times were 31:28 and 31:33, respectively.

Sprinting to the finish

The racing continued past 8:00 pm, and it was even later when the awards were ready to be handed out. In the meantime, a generous supply of Latrobe Brewery t-shirts, hats, and other gift items were awarded randomly to participants.

Just as soon as the awards were over, and for some even sooner, the real fun of the Rolling Rock 5 Miler was getting started. It was time to head to the after party featuring plenty of food, music, and... well, we'll just say that it comes in a green bottle with the number "33" on it.