Saturday, September 19, 1998 -- Dunbar
Wine Cellar Classic Road Race

[More Pictures] [Results]

Henna Haava out ran the rain and all the competition

The 24th Annual Wine Cellar Classic Road Race, one of the longest running races in West Virginia, got underway in Dunbar on Saturday morning, September 19th. The threat of rain gave way to several minutes of showers at the start of the race, but otherwise the temperatures were mild and the precipitation held off. It was actually a little warmer than in recent years. Race director Cheryl Gaynor commented that is was the first time in the six years she's been organizing the race that she remembers being comfortable wearing shorts.

The racers took to the streets of Dunbar at 8:00am and it wasn't long before Henna Haava of Estonia, an All-American from Berea College in Kentucky, began to distance himself from the competition. None of the other 60-plus runners could come close to matching the speed of Haava as he crossed the finish line in 32:30, averaging 5:15 miles and almost five minutes faster than second place.

The second finsisher was Duane Dombek, finishing in 37:22, running at a 6:00 mile pace. He also distanced himself from the remainder of the pack as a group of three racers battled for third place honors. At the finish, just second apart, it was Harry Bruner (39:21), Gary Brown (39:24), and Shawn Chillage (39:27) taking third, fourth and fifth, respectively.

Marlene Moore finishing in the top ten overall

Another dominating performance was given on the women's side of the race. Marlene Moore was the first woman to complete the 6.2 miles, with a time of 43:13 and a ninth place overall finish. The second place female, Sarah Sears (49:23) did not see the finish line for another six minutes.

Other awards given for the morning's events went to Anita Jones, the first to complete the 10K Walk, and E.H. Foster, the first, and only, finisher in the 2 Mile Senior Walk.

This year's race was another success and the plans are getting underway for a special edition next year to celebrate its 25th anniversary. Many thanks go out to all the volunteers and the many generous sponsors including: Art's Flowers, Big T's Dairy Bar, Coca-Cola, Dunbar Athletic Boosters, Dunbar Pet Center, Fraternal Order of Police, Dunbar Lodge #119, Gino's, Go-Mart, Pile Hardware, Dunbar Bowling Center and Club Colonnade, of South Charleston, who provided Friday night's pre-race dinner.