Saturday, April 10, 2004 -- Glen Dale, WV
We Run, We Walk, For Webark (iPO Event Id#: 6043)
Story and photos by Jason Black

[Details] [Coverage]
Results: [Overall Run] [Overall Walk] [Results by Class]
Pictures: [Set 1] [Set 2] [Set 3] [Set 4] [Set 5] [Set 6] [Set 7]

Good morning Glen Dale!

It was the perfect place to race. The course route was right behind the Reynolds Memorial Hospital, through a small community, and down the flat streets of Glen Dale, West Virginia. Hundreds of energy filled people showed up to have some fun and support their furry friends. Some folks in the neighborhood who were watching the race seemed to have as much fun as the participants. Many racers could hear words of encouragement being shouted from the nearby porches that lined the race course.

The 5K run was a tight from the start with several packs consisting of large numbers of people who seemed to be drafting off of one another. But the top three spread it out during the last leg of the 5K run.

Cheers for the racers could be heard from nearby porches

Second place finisher, Matthew Barnes (16:56), of Keyser, WV said, "The first three or four runners stuck together until the halfway point. After we made our turn I decided to make my break and the first place guy stuck with me for a while, then he blew my doors off!"

That guy who was "blowing the doors off" of Barnes was Ohio runner, Ira Wentworth. Wentworth had the fastest 5K Run time (16:26), of the day. Ira commented on his race strategy saying, "I like to run the first half, and then race the second half." Third place overall honors in the 5K Run went to R.J. Notle (17:01), also out of Ohio.

Harriet Hunter out having fun and winning a run

Still feeling the burn from a marathon that she did a couple of weeks before, Harriet Hunter wasn’t sure if she was going to run this race or not. When asked about her final decision Hunter said, "I'm glad that I did. It was a fun course and I got to run with some friends."

While Hunter was out having fun, she also finished first for the ladies in the 5K run with a time of 18:54.

Glen Dale local gal Kristen McCabe,(22:29) took home second, and Brittaney Banks (22:47), of Ohio took third.

Walking with friends

There was no lack of competition in the 5K walk, with over half of the racer's participants being walkers. On this fine day, the first overall winner of the walk was a woman. Barb Kornbau of Wellsville, OH race walked her way over the line with a time of 27:15.

Yet another Ohio racer, Jerry Goodwin (28:40), strutted in for second, while Kenny Lewis (31:36), of Wheeling, WV took home third. Also from Wheeling, Karen Britt (31:59), took home second for the women, and Susanne Keefer (33:46), of Wheeling, West Virginia finished third, rounding out the womens top walking spots.

This race really IS for the dogs! (And cats too.)

The proceeds from the race went to benefit Webark Estates, Inc., a local, non-profit, "no-kill" animal shelter located in Marshall County, West Virginia. Their goal for each animal is adoption, but cats and dogs may live their life out at the shelter, getting the care, comfort, and love that they deserve. Webark is in the process of completing the designs for their new dog building. They are estimating that a modest $100,000 will be enough to build the new facility. Find out more about Webark Estates on their web site.

April is Prevention to Animal Cruelty Month, see what you can do at www.aspca.org.