Saturday, September 11, 1999 -- Summersville
Nicholas County Potato Festival 5K Run/Walk
Story and photos by Marty Lamp

[Coverage] [Pic Set 1] [Pic Set 2] [Pic Set 3] [Pic Set 4]
[Overall Results] [Results by Class]

Getting ready to start in Summersville

The 21st Annual Nicholas County Potato Festival 5K had the streets of Summersville alive with runners on Saturday morning. Folks who weren't running had the spoils of the Potato Festival to entertain them, and oh yes, there were plenty of potatos on hand. The skies were without a cloud and sunshine seemed to be coming from everywhere as temperatures hung around the 70's for the 9am start.

The out and back course started out on front of the Nicholas County Courthouse, and left town heading towards the McKees Creek Road area. The harriers were then running through residential streets before turning back towards town.

Brent Carter finishing in front

The first runner to make it back to the finish was Brent Carter(15:50). Carter and last year's winner Larry Taylor(16:01) slowly separated themselves from the pack early, and within the final mile, Carter opened a small lead on Taylor, finishing only 11 seconds ahead. Taylor finished second, while Tim Howard(17:30) finished third overall.

The first female to finish the race was local star Jessica Taylor(19:28). Taylor finished over 3 minutes ahead of a great battle between Mary Legg(22:59) and Lori Gardner(23:02). Legg and Gardner were neck-and-neck the final 1/4 mile, but Legg proved to have a little more left for the finish.

One of the winners from the kids race

For the walkers out enjoying the race, Danny Lane(36:12) got the win, with Robert Craft(37:32) finishing second. The first female walker to finish was right behind Craft; Camille Ramsey(37:42) got the win, and Tricia Russell(37:42) finished just behind for second place.

If you missed the Potato festval this year, make sure to stop by Summersville next year to enjoy a great small town event. Thanks go out to Frank Young for making this race happen, and to all the volunteers who helped out.