Sunday, August 4, 2002 -- Morgantown, WV
Gene's Run For Special Olympics (MAGP #6) (iPO Event Id#: 4908)
Article by Heather Bury with photos by Don Parks

[Details] [Coverage]
[Overall Results] [Results by Class]
Pictures: [Set 1] [Set 2] [Set 3] [Set 4] [Set 5] [Set 6] [Set 7]
Past Coverage: [1998] [1999] [2000] [2001]

Ed Frohnapfel leads Derek Clark by a stride at the 3-mile mark

I wasn't sure if the race began at 6 or 7pm, so a little after five I stopped by to ask. "Well," said the helpful man, "it is 96-degrees right now and they're just going to wait until it hits 97 to start the race." OK, so he was being a little sarcastic. But the point was made, this was going to be a hot one! Luckily Gene's always provides some folks' favorite cold beverages after the race.

We all gathered on the streets of South Park, hoping that it would be over quickly so we could get to those post-race refreshments. After an inspirational recital of the Special Olympics Oath, we were off and running.

E.J. Linger and Derek Clark took the race out fast, with Ed Frohnapfel not too far behind. By two miles, Linger was starting to deteriorate and Frohnapfel picked up the pace to join in the hunt for a win. Not long after catching Linger, Frohnapfel and Clark took over the lead.

The downhill finish is good for a sprint

Clark hung with Frohnapfel until the final mile. Once they hit the cobblestone street, Frohnapfel's experience came into play and he took the best line over the cobblestone that he possible could, which opened up a lead for him. Frohnapfel's finishing time of 22:03 was just ahead of Clark in 22:10.

Not too far behind, Murshid Latif was running his usual patient and strategic race. He had come from behind to pass Linger for third place. With a time of 22:18 it's obvious that he was moving in on the leaders.

On the women's side, former WVU runner and Med student Johanna Fisher took it out hard. Morgantown's Heather Bury trailed Fisher in the first mile, but quickly made up ground. By two miles, Bury had established a good lead and was looking for her fourth win in a row at Gene's Run. She would finish with a time of 24:56 to cap off a 90-mile week. Fisher ran well for second place (26:00), finishing ahead of Julie Warner (26:35) who took third.

Racing past Gene's Place on a hot summer evening

If the MAGP series had a walking division, Terry Horn would probably lead the standings. He cruised to a huge win in a time of 36:04 well ahead of second place finisher Carmello Tabone.

For the women walkers, it was 12-year-old Emilee Goodman (49:19) taking the win. This young lady takes her walking seriously and finished just ahead of Kirby Bonner (49:30) who took second.

A good race for a good cause, Gene's Run provided it's usual HOT running and fun after party, all in the name of Special Olympics.