Saturday, July 27, 2002 -- Clarksburg, WV
Greater Clarksburg 10K and 2 Miler (iPO Event Id#: 4708)
Story by Heather Bury with photos by Don Parks

[Details] [Coverage]
[10K Results] [2 Miler Results]
Pictures: [Set 1] [Set 2] [Set 3] [Set 4] [Set 5] [Set 6] [Set 7] [Set 8] [Set 9]
[Set 10] [Set 11] [Set 12] [Set 13] [Set 14] [Set 15] [Set 16]
[More 10K Photos, Kids & 2-Miler]
Past event Coverage: [1998] [1999] [2000] [2001]

The lead pack speeds through Clarksburg

The threat of rain was only a cool thought on the minds of racers Saturday morning. Clarksburg felt like a sauna with the temperatures only in the mid 70's, but the humidity at 100%.

As usual, it was an all-Kenyan contingent making it's way through the streets of downtown Clarksburg. But even they couldn't fight off the fatigue that the intense humidity brought on.

In the men's race, nine Kenyans stayed in a tight pack for the majority of the race, leaving spectators clueless as to who would win. In the end it came down to a sprint between four men with John Korir (29:07) winning out over Tom Nyariki (29:09).

The race among the top Americans was decided within the first few miles with West Virginia's own Mikey Cox stealing the show. The 26 year old Athens resident ran 31:06 to collect his $1000 check, but not without a trip to the hospital.

Everyone was sprinting for the finish

The heat and humidity had completely exhausted Cox, but he pressed on because he knew that the top prize was his. Although Darrell General from Maryland made a good run at Cox, in the end he could not catch him and placed second for the Americans in a time of 31:47.

The Top West Virginian prize went to former WVU standout James Lander. Lander ran a time of 32:41 to take home $200.

The master's battle was almost as exciting as the battle between the Kenyans. Larry Taylor of Fayetteville (35:48) got a lead on Ed Frohnapfel of Morgantown (35:55), but Frohnapfel pushed the last two hills to catch Taylor, only to have Taylor pull away in the final sprint.

On the women's side, the top places were of course left up to the Kenyans again. Gladys Asiba and Teresa Wanjiku really took it down to the wire. The pair ran 34:22 and 34:23 with Asiba winning over Wanjiku in the last few meters.

The Kid's K floods the Clarksburg streets

Top American was again decided within the first lap of the race. Stephanie Doeringer from Indiana was too much for Morgantown's Heather Bury to handle. Doeringer dropped Bury in the third mile and took the top prize with a time of 35:41. Bury could only hold on for 37:11.

Top prize in the West Virginia category went to Karen Lockhart-Gould in a time of 42:02. Gould is also a recent WVU standout at 10,000 meters.

Forty-two year old Elena Fidatov of Romania was the top masters woman with a time of 35:37. While 53-year old Terry Mahr was a distant second with at time of 40:18.

As the 10K race wrapped up, all the youngsters took to the streets for the Kids K. They ran varying sprint distances in what was most certainly the crowd favorite event for the day. All the future stars earned medals, and cookies, for their efforts.

Bring a friend and join the fun

The fun wasn't done after that, it was now time for the inaugural 2 mile event. Like all the Clarksburg races, it was spectator friendly with two loops around city blocks comprising the course.

With a brief rain shower just before the start, it may have been the best weather conditions for any of the racing. Keith Rand of Morgantown won in a time of 10:20, while Annie Schuerger won for the women in 13:33.

So what do you do after all this? You head over to the awards party that was complete with a chicken wing cook-off. It was time for some refreshments, tales from the day's endeavors, and plans for next years Greater Clarksburg races. We'll see you there!