Saturday, July 3, 1999 -- Fayetteville
Fayetteville Heritage Festival 5K Run
Story and photos by Don Parks

[Coverage/Recap] Pictures: [Set 1] [Set 2] [Set 3] [Kids Mile]
Results: [5K Overall] [5K by Class & 1 Mile]

Dan Palmer grabs a well earned drink of water

On Saturday July 3rd, in historic Fayetteville, the warm and heavy summer air was still lingering as late afternoon slowly turned to evening. It was a tough 5K around town and some challenging hills awaiting an anxious group of runners. Many had run early in the morning at races in St. Albans, WV, or Tazwell, VA. Another hot race was ready to start at 7:00pm.

The annual Fayetteville Heritage Festival was a backdrop for the event, and the streets were alive with crowds of onlookers enjoying crafts, funnel cakes, cool drinks, and entertainment of all types. With the Fayette County REACT Team #2599 doing their best to keep the streets clear, the start signal was given sending the runners out for an uphill start.

Kathy Lencio paced herself to a 1st overall women's finish

At the one mile mark, Brent Carter was running a 5:15 pace with Larry Taylor in tow at 5:20. During the second mile and into the third, it seemed Carter had built a solid lead with Taylor and Tim Howard each running alone in second and third, respectively. However, the heat and some nice hills in the final half-mile seemed to punish Carter late in the race. Taylor was able to steadily close and moved into the lead on the final hill and went on to take first overall in 16:55. Carter crossed soon after for second overall in 17:02 while Howard found the line at 17:39 for third.

Among the women running in the late day heat, Kathy Lencio was the one able to pace herself the fastest and finished first at 20:54. Jenny Board was the second fastest female recording a finishing time off 25:19.

Chris Adkins shows winning form in the 1 mile kids race

After all the 5K runners had sweated their evenings worth, it was time to give the young ones a chance in the 1 Mile Kids Run. Open to those under 12 years of age, their course followed the same 5K route at the start but quickly found the last half-mile of the 5K finish. It looked to be a tough mile, but all the faces seemed frantically eager as the kids tried their best to patiently wait for the start. From the quick start through the final finishers, from the 7 year-olds and older, it was an all out effort.

Gliding through the streets the quickest was 11 year-old Chris Adkins clocking a 6:30 mile. Julie Brown was the fastest among the girls with an 8-minute mile.

Abi practices with dad's trophy for her day in the winner's circle

After still another event, the Fayetteville 5K Kid's Bike Race, an assortment of great door prizes and awards awaited everyone as they downed plenty of cool drinks. A big "Thank You!" goes out to Mark Mrozek and the Fayette Foot & Angle Clinic. Through his generosity, all 12 and under participants raced for free and came away with at least a new t-shirt. He was also the main sponsor for the 5K awards that included some nice cash for the overall male and female runners.

Let's not forget the great volunteer help provided by the Fayetteville City Police, the Jan-Care Ambulance crew, and many others. Especially the guys who ran the show, Andy Hambrick and Perry Bonding Inc.'s own Fred Perry.