Saturday, October 17, 1998 -- Martinsburg
Apple Trample 5K
Photographs and Article by Emory Rogers and Laura Branham

[Coverage/Recap w/Pics] [Pictures Set 1] [Pictures Set 2] [Results]

Danny Carter dressed in full Apple Trample running regailia

Sunny skies and temperatures in the seventies set the stage for the 19th Annual Apple Trample 5K-road race in Martinsburg, WV hosted by the West Virginia Air National Guard and the Mountain State Apple Harvest Committee. The starting line for the race at War Memorial Park was filled with runners young and old, male and female in good spirits looking forward to an enjoyable run.

Start-line marshal Shawn Mallory was enthusiastic, and the group of 119 runners, up from 85 last year and consisting of fourteen race divisions, shared his enthusiasm. At 12:03 Mallory got the race underway with a resounding "GO!" Mike Grosse moved out fast to take a lead going into the first turn from Tennessee Avenue onto King Street. It was here, however, that things began to go awry. A guardsman had inadvertently allowed a car onto the race course creating some confusion about the exact route. Several runners, including eventual overall winner Mark Vann, took an unintended detour of about a half-mile, allowing the chase group to catch up and actually overtake the lead runners.

Mark Vann takes the win even after running an extended course

The group of detourees, realizing the mistake, doubled back and worked hard to make up for lost time. As the runners made their way down Queen Street they were greeted with bottled water to rejuvenate their bodies and add some temporary relief from the heat. Mark Vann established a blistering pace to regain lost ground and pull into the lead, distancing himself from the pack at about the 3.5km mark.

Eventual second place overall finisher Gabe Narduzzi employed the different tactic of drafting with a group of other runners before stretching it out fairly late in the race and sprinting away to finish with a time of 19:29, 27 seconds behind Vann's winning time of 19:02.

Liz McCullough accepts the awards for a great race

In the female division Liz McCullough ran a steady and strong race to finish with a time of 20:41, 30 seconds ahead of second place finisher Ruth Rieminschneider.

As runners continued to cross the finish line at Martinsburg High School they received hardy applause and plenty of encouragement from the gathering of onlookers. Local merchants provided refreshments at the finish line. Rodney Neely, the finish line marshal and event organizer, along with his group of dedicated volunteers quickly produced the results, which had to be manually tabulated due to a malfunction of the computerized time keeping.

Here's to the always appreciated race volunteers!

Runners shared memories of the race with fellow participants as well as family members and friends as they waited for the presentation of trophies and medals. Trophies were given to the first, second and third place winners in their respective race divisions and medals were presented to the first and second place team finishers. After the awards ceremony and the distribution of door prizes given by local merchants, the race came to a satisfying end.