Just 3.1 miles to go...

Thurs. June 11, 1998, Stansberry Stadium -- West Union, WV
Doddridge County PATCH Run (5K and 1M)

[Coverage/Recap] [Pic. Set #1] [Pic. Set #2] [Complete Results]

Okay, so the weather was a little dreary and the WVOutside van ran out of gas (thanks for the gas Mr. Bee!) on the way to the race Thusday evening, but a great crowd of racers and the beautiful North Bend Rail-Trail in West Union more than made up for it.

14 year-old Stephen Hiser finished strong for a 9 second win over Dale Hill

The 1-Mile race was held on the track at Stansberry Stadium, while the 5K race was an out-and-back run along the North Bend Rail-Trail passing the stadium entrance. If you have ever run on a finished rail-trail before, you know that they are almost always flat and scenic. This 5K course was no exception.

The 5K race came down to a duel between Stephen Hiser and Dale Hill. Dale was able to stay close with Stephen for most of the race, but could not match his finishing kick. Stephen crossed the line first in 18:25 with Dale close behind, 9 seconds back. Coming in third and fourth, Tim Anderson beat out Benny Schneider to the finish by just a few seconds at 19:10 and 19:13, respectively.

Melinda Moran (in red), the first female finsiher in the 5K, also set the pace in the women's 1 Mile

The fastest women racer in the 5K was Melinda Moran (21:52) who passed Jennifer Robertson (21:55) at about the half-mile mark and was able to maintain a slight lead to the finish.

In the men's mile, Dale Hill let Tim Anderson set the pace for the first two laps before taking control and sprinting to the finish in 5:40. For the women, Melinda Moran set the pace again and easily finished first in 6:39.

Dale Hill overtakes Tim Anderson at the halfway mark in the mile

Honorable mention for the men's and women's mile must go to Ryan Summers and Sandy Dakota, respectively. Sandy, age 7, put in a great effort against other girls that were 5 to 14 years her senior. Then there was Ryan, age 8, who ran a valiant race against men that were no younger than 25 years his elder. Watching the spirit that these kids brought into their respective races makes one remember that "Winning isn't everything, wanting to is."

Sam Wilt (center), and his buddies Jacob (left) and Eli (right) Ross, cleaned up at the trohpy table

Sandy Dakota is ready to battle girls two and three times her age (7) in the mile