Saturday, August 14, 1999 -- South Charleston
Pinch 5K Challenge
Story and photos by Lori Garbesi
[Coverage]
[Pic Set 1]
[Pic Set 2]
[Overall Results]
[Results by Class]
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Jared Smith picking up the pace in Pinch
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Pinch, West Virginia, just outside of Charleston, was the setting
of the 3rd Annual 5K Challenge on August 14, 1999 at 8:00a.m. The
race began in front of the football field and attracted approximately
50 enthusiastic runners from all around the area. With overcast skies
and a refreshingly cool breeze, runners lined up to start the race on
a flat area of the road about 1/4 mile from the football field. This
flat area of the road was forgotten once racers took off and hit the
steepest hill of several, within this first mile of the course. The
course climbed and then rolled downhill and back up a few inclines. It
was basically rolling, with very few flat areas. In fact, the
question of the day seemed to be, "Where are the flats they
mentioned?" Needless to say, everyone survived and seemed proud to
have accomplished such a feat.
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Adam Cross powers the hills
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Jared Smith appeared to be completely comfortable and
experienced with this type of course, so much so that he won the race
without any competitors nearby. Jared proved to be the Two Time
Defending Champion of the Pinch 5K Challenge. He described the course
as one of the most difficult in the area, as did many other
participants. The "killer" was the first steep incline that was found
with in the first mile of the race. Jared improved his time this year
with an impressive finish of 17:58. Following him for second place
was
Adam Cross (18:54) and
Brent Garrett (19:18) for the
third place position.
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Rebecca and Ed Haver run stride for stride
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In the women's division,
Rebecca Haver (21:01) won first
place by conquering those hills with impressive speed. Rebecca, a
Teays Valley native, is a cross-country runner for Malone College in
Ohio and will be heading there this week for cross-country camp.
Following her in second and third place respectively were
Kala
Lester (23:27) and
Ashley King (25:32).
The cooler temperatures and the resistance of rain made the
morning an enjoyable one for racers and spectators alike. Thanks goes
to all those people who donated their time to make this race possible.
All proceeds went to the Pinch Community Boosters and sponsors
included Delta Sign Company, CellularOne, Rogers'
IGA, and WKAZ 107.3.