Saturday, October 9, 1999 -- Salem
Apple Butter Festival 5K Run
Story and photos by Marty Lamp

[Coverage] [Pic Set 1] [Pic Set 2] [Pic Set 3] [Pic Set 4] [Results]

David McCollam leading the way

The small town of Salem was packed full of people on Saturday morning for the Apple Butter Festival, but this classic fall-time festival wasn't the only attraction this day. Over 170 runners of all ages came to compete in the Apple Butter 5K, which was also the last race in the Clarksburg Area Race Series. Cloudy skys and seasonable temperatures greeted the racers as everyone lined up for the start.

The course was run on the rails-to-trails, starting just off of Flinderation Road, and ending 3.1 miles later in downtown Salem. This final race was as flat as could be hoped for in West Virginia, and the finishing times are proof. At roughly 9:10am, the starting gun was sounded, as the fastest runners wasted no time setting a fast pace.

The pack on the way to Salem

Right from the beginning, David McCollam(15:25) jumped out in front, and he would see nothing but open trail the remainder of the race. McCollam averaged a pace of 4:58 per mile as he steadily pulled away from pack, eventually winning by almost a full minute.

The battle for second was much tighter as Mikey Guinn(16:13) and Larry Taylor(16:15) tried to stay close to McCollam. Guinn stayed in front of Taylor the first 2.5 miles, then Taylor momentarily passed Guinn, only to barely lose his lead in the final 200 yards. Guinn finished second overall, and Taylor finished third overall.

Racing through the festivities

In the women's division, Jessica Taylor(18:39) set the pace as she took the early lead and never let it go. Taylor would get the win, and finish 15th overall. Sara Walker(19:16) wasn't far behind Taylor, as she also finished impressively in 19th place overall. Erika Ryan(20:30) finished third in the women's class, and 31st overall.

Congratulations to Larry Taylor for being the 1999 CARS Men's Champion, and to his daughter Jessica Taylor for winning the Women's Championship.

Thanks also go out to David Weekley for taking care of the results, and to all the fine folks of Salem for coming out and supporting the race, as well as all the festivities.