Sunday, November 7, 1999 -- Morgantown
Mountaineer Week 5K Run & 2K Walk
Story and photos by Marty Lamp

[Coverage] [Pic Set 1] [Overall Results] [Results by Class]

Getting ready for the start

The conditions couldn't have been much nicer than they were for the Mountaineer Week 5K in Morgantown on Sunday. Blue skies and an abundance of sunshine helped keep the temperatures great for this MAGP event, or anything else that would take you outside.

Over 150 runners and walkers lined up for the 2pm start, just beside the Mountainlair on Prospect Street. The course took runners around the Mountainlair Complex before heading down High Street, and through downtown Morgantown. A left turn onto Dorsey Avenue brought everyone into the Southpark neighborhood as they headed back towards the start.

Brad Mangold and Kenny Beerbower in the lead

Sometimes, though, things don't always go as planned... The course then took runners out of Southpark via the Pleasant Street Bridge, and then a right onto Spruce Street, taking them back to the start. Apparently, perhaps because of a major gap between the front 10-15 runners and the rest of the pack, everyone not in the front group starting crossing the Rt. 7 bridge, and then getting on Spruce Street. Truth be told, the difference in distances are next to nothing, and very few people even seemed to notice the slight course change.

A few guys who had a police car leading the way for them were Bradley Mangold(16:19) and Kenny Beerbower(16:31). Mangold and last year's winner Beerbower were running side by side, with Kevin Williams(16:35), Keith Rand(16:37), and a host of other fleet harriers less than twenty seconds behind.

Heading towards High Street

Once on Spruce Street, Mangold started to put a gap between himself and Beerbower, while Williams was closing in fast. Mangold would earn the win while managing 5:15 per mile pace for the 3.1 miles, and Beerbower would finish second overall. Williams finished third overall.

For the women, Erin O'Reilly(18:03) kept a 5:48 per mile pace to finish first, and 17th overall, while Sara Walker(18:45) finished second, and 28th overall. Giti Farudi(19:30) rounded out the top three female finishers, finishing 33rd overall.

In the 2K walk, the relentless George Macek(9:43) was the first man to finish, while the battle for first in the women's division was a little closer. Tonya Smith(12:12) edged out Linda Little(12:13) and Megan Morgan(12:14) to get the win.

Thanks go out to SERJ for doing such a great job of handling the results, and to the Morgantown policemen and volunteers who helped out.