Saturday, May 22, 1999 -- Kanawha State Forest
Cystic Fibrosis Great Strides 10K Run/5K Fun Walk
Story and Photos by Marty Lamp

[Coverage] [Pic Set 1] [Pic Set 2] [Pic Set 3] [Results]

Duane Dombeck wins at Kanawha State Forest

Moments before the start time, Mother Nature made her presence known like only she can. The skys were exploding with lightning, and ominous clouds dropped some much needed rain into the thirsty Kanawha State Forest. Runners and walkers alike were left hiding under shelter or inside their vehicle. The lightning and rain moved away though, and the race was ran on time, leaving only the sprinkles dropped from the leaves of trees.

The 10K course started by the pool parking lot, and went south along the main paved road through the freshly drenched forest. Gradually running uphill until the turn-around point, the racers were then rewarded for their first half efforts with a slight downhill to the finish.

Christina Rawson running like the wind

The race for the overall win was fast and close, with Duane Dombeck(38:06) winning over Leif Irgens(38:11) by a mere 5 seconds. Gary Brown(41:10) finished third for the men, and fourth overall.

Third place overall was impressively won by Christina Rawson(40:51) as she was the first female competitor to cross the finish line. Linda Dietrich(42:00) was barely a minute behind Rawson for a second place female finish, and fifth place overall. Eighteen year old Katherine Kapo(43:09) ended the race in third place for the female division.

Even though over twice as many people raced as the year before, post race food and drinks were in abundance. It seemed that everyone involved went home with a little something, from gift certificates to T-shirts donated by Pepsi, not to mention pride in the fact that a great cause was helped out. If you missed it this year, make sure to check it out next year, we will!