Saturday, September 25, 1999 -- Davis
Tour of Davis 5K
Story and photos by Don Parks

[Coverage/Recap] [Overall Results] [Results by Class]
[Pic Set 1] [Pic Set 2] [Pic Set 3]

Alice Fleischman & Karl Waite having fun in the streets of Davis

The 11th Annual Leaf Peepers Festival was true to form with early fall foliage coloring Canaan Valley. With a week packed full of bike rides, canoe trips, llama rides, arts & crafts, concerts, fly fishing lessons, and much, much more, WVOutside caught up with the action at the 5K Fun Race.

The racers were all greeted with beautiful morning weather including plenty of sun along with a cool autumn breeze. Add in the great small town hospitality provided by the residents of Davis and it was easy to see that more fun was just a few strides away. Never mind the hilly course that meandered through the downtown streets, the Mountain State did get its name for a reason.

Luke Fleischman enjoys a victory

A fun run for some folks means getting through the 3.1 mile course as fast as possible. Right from the start it was Luke Fleischman racing to the front with Jim Garrett taking up the second position. Fleischman dominated the competition as he disappeared around the first corner and went on to record a big win with a time of 17:59. Meanwhile Garret was ran his race alone in second and arrived at the finish in 20:06.

In the female field of runners it was Luke's sister Alice Fleischman who raced to a big early lead. However, not far behind Jane Rodrigue was setting her sights on closing the gap. Rodrigue closed to within seconds of the leader as they made their way toward the finish, but Fleischman was able to hold on to her advantage to finish first in 25:32. Rodrigue placed second overall just four seconds back at 25:36 and later said, "I couldn't quite catch her." Why? Well, she went on to state that "I wanna be able to drink a beer when I get home!" See, we told you this was a fun run.

Anne Wardwell gives James a fun ride through Davis

Adding to all the good times was local celebrity, Chip Chase, who arrived late for the race and some how managed to forget to bring any shoes. It is West Virginia, so what would any good West Virginian do? He proceeded to run the entire race barefoot! The forty-something Chase finished eleventh overall in a time of 24:22 making some wonder how he'd do with shoes.

The fun continued as the final racers finished while the West Virginia Craft & Food Fair was in full swing at the same location as the finish line (not to mention the local Irish folk music provided by Stone & Ivy.) Then it was on to the awards with trophies and medals for many and prizes for everyone. Just like Steven Waterson and Tess Kerzner who made the trip from Jamestown, New York, this year, you should do whatever you can to get to the Leaf Peepers Festival 5K Fun Run in 2000.

Don't miss it next year!

All these good times come thanks to the Tucker County Alpine Festival, Inc. and the hard work of Annie Snyder and Ted Fries. We also give a hearty "thank you" to the many sponsors including Runner's World, One World Concept, Highland Scenic Tours, The Tucker County Wellness Center, Kristin Douglas - Certified Massage Therapist, The Ski Barn, Sirianni's Deerfield, Pride of the Mountains, Mongolian Motion, and Runner's High.