Saturday, May 5, 2001 -- Charleston, WV
Komen West Virginia Race for the Cure (iPO Event Id#: 3048)
Story and photos by George Gannon

[Details] [Coverage]
[Overall 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]
Sets 8-12 added Thursday, 5/10/01

Larry Taylor does it again

Over 2000 people besieged the Kanawha Boulevard in Charleston West Virginia on Saturday morning; people that were ready to participate in one of the state's biggest philanthropic races. The Race for the Cure was held to help raise money in the fight against breast cancer. If May 5, is any indication, there are plenty of people out there ready to do battle against an enemy that kills thousands of women each year.

The racecourse followed Kanawha Boulevard and did not veer much from it. The "flat and fast" course lies right beside the Kanawha River and had to be basic enough to handle the race's volume. A mass of people could be seen making their collective way along the course. Dotted among the races and walkers were pink shirts with the race's name on it. Women who have survived breast cancer were wearing those shirts.

Running for a good cause

However, one shirt everybody saw from behind was that of Larry Taylor. Taylor took out of the gate fast and, in true Taylor style, never looked back or let anyone get anywhere near him. Taylor took the number one spot with a time of 16:35, but the drama was in the number two and three positions. The father and son duo of David and Duane Dombeck were battling it out the entire race, each trading the number two and three spots. However, youth was served, and David took the number two spot. Dwayne rounded out the top three, saying he did not have "quite the kick" his son has.

For the ladies, Connie Young took top honor, beating the crowd with a time of 20:35. Robin Cannon came in just after her, and Roxanne Cart took the number three spot.

For the breat cancer surviors, Jamie Carter took the number spot. Debbie McHenry and Peggy Pope took the second and third place spots respectively.

Racing for a cure in WV

Janet Proctor, a Fayetteville resident , who is also hosting the Raft for the Cure on May 12th, summed the experince up best when she said "there is so much energy here - feel like I could run forever."

Even though there were awards given to people who crossed the finish line before anybody else, the true winners were the women, and one man, present who vanquished breast cancer. As proven by their presence in the event, these people did not merely survive the disease, the conquered it. An iplayoutside goes to Mr. Donnie Hudspeth for his help in with the results. Tabulating 2000 people ain't easy.