They were running in the rain during Saturday's 29th annual Ogden Newspapers 20K Classic Run and Walk held in Wheeling, but nothing could stop defending champion Julius Kibet.

The now two-time winner, a Kenya native currently residing in West Chester, Pa., had to stop on the downhill side of 29th Street Hill to tie the string on one of his running shoes.

At the time, he had just taken a slight lead in the race and could only watch while his two closest rivals - Wheeling's Ricky Moore and Isaac Arusei, also a native Kenyan - ran past him.

Kibet fell about 100 meters behind but quickly caught up and blew past his rivals to win Saturday's race in 1 hour, 3 minutes, 4 seconds.

"Julius was already about 100 yards ahead of me and Isaac heading down 29th Street Hill. And then he just stopped," Moore said. "We went past him while he was kneeling down to tie his shoe but it wasn't long before he went back in front and started pulling away again."

Kibet said it was the first time something like that happened to him during a race. "I guess it was because of all the rain."

He was impressed with the race turned in by Moore, against whom Kibet had never run before.

"He's really a good runner. I think he ran very well today. But I never felt pushed the whole day. Even when I had to stop coming down the hill. Once I got going again, I caught up to them fairly easily. When I was able to get back in front, (I) didn't have any problems the rest of the way."

Even though he finished second in the Men's Open Division, it was a red letter day in Moore's professional running career. A former NCAA All-American distance runner at Wheeling Jesuit University, Ricky turned in the highest finish ever by an Ohio Valley runner in the 20K men's race. He was timed in 1 hour, 4 minutes, 18 seconds.

Absent from the race since 2001 while competing in national events as a collegiate runner, Moore's best previous finish in the Ogden 20K Classic was ninth.

Moore, meanwhile, continued to duel Arusei heading into the tunnel on the Wheeling Heritage Trail on the revamped racing course.

"I started cramping about 10 miles in and Arusei had about 40 yards on me. But I knew Arusei was hurting, too, because he kept looking over his shoulder. I caught him just as we were going into the tunnel (at Tunnel Green) and just kept going."

Arusei, timed in 1:04:57, had to settle for third place, 39 seconds behind Moore.

The female Open winner in the 20K event was Jemima Sumgong, a 20-year-old Kenyan who moved to the United States on May 15 and was running her first major race in this country.

Sumgong, ninth overall among all competitors, led the women finishers across the line with a 1:12:13 clocking, while the next two women were Ukraine native Tationa Belovol, second in 1:12:41, and Denisa Costescu, third with a time of 1:15:43.

Sumgong came to Wheeling along with two other members of the Chapel Hill (N.C.) Track Club - Fred Getange, fifth in the men's 20K Open Division and Henry Ongechi, who took 10th place overall.

This year's course had to be altered because of ongoing construction and traffic problems along National Road. The runners turned off National Road at the Junior Avenue Bridge and got on the Heritage Trail just past Mason Rehab Center. They ran from there to the McCulloch Street exit on 14th Street before racing downhill the rest of the way to the finish line adjacent to WesBanco Arena.

Surprisingly, most of the runners in the race didn't think the new course was much easier even though it eliminated the hill at Wheeling Park, Chicken Neck Hill and, finally, Wheeling Hill.

Kibet, however, admitted he liked this year's layout. "If I had to choose between the two courses, I'd pick this one. I think I could run a pretty fast time in better conditions."

Both the winner and runner-up thought the hard rain that was falling at the start of the race resulted in a slower time this year. Both believe it took them too long to get their bodies warmed up. The first mile, according to Moore, went by in about 5:20, which all but ruled out a possibility of a record time being recorded.

Moore, in fact, said he jumped out front to try and push the pace. When that happened, Kibet and Arusei went with him, quickly turning it into a three-man race.

Moore wasn't the only runner from the local area to finish in the top 10, however, as he was joined by Ben Bolock, former Buckeye Local and Alderson-Broaddus College standout, and Dustin Meeker, who was Moore's teammate at Wheeling Jesuit.

Bolock, fifth last year, reached the finish line in 1:07:49 to take sixth place while Meeker was eighth in 1:10:48.

Three local males and five women were among the age group winners in the Ogden 20K Run. Michael Wakim, an 18-year-old Wheeling Park High School senior who was second in the West Virginia Class AAA 1,600 meters at the recent state track meet, won the 19-and-under division with a time of 1:20:50. Weirton's R.J. Nolte, last year's male 5K Run for Your Health winner, ran the 20K this time and captured first place in the 20-24 age group with a time of 1:20:49. In the men's 45-49 division, Dennis Delbert of Bellaire was first in 1:17:53.

Area female age group winners were Aimee Vavrek of Bellaire, 1:31:58 (19-and-under); Tricia Palmer, St. Clairsville, 1:39:35 (30-34); Pam Gibson, Cadiz, 1:48:59 (55-59); and Marti Stephan, Wheeling, 1:51:42 (60-64).

The male and female 20K Walk champions were Don Slusser from Monroeville, Pa., at 2:07:58, and repeat titlist Barb Kornbau of Wellsville in 2:08:29.

In the 5K Run and Walk For Your Health, Saturday's winners were coming off victories in Friday night's speedy Ogden Mile. Former Olympian Ovidiu Olteanu, from Romania, won the Ogden Mile in 3 minutes, 59.2 seconds Friday and came back about 12 hours later to break the tape first in the 5K Run in 15:30. Sara Ogle led the women's division with a time of 18:15. Her winning effort on Friday night was 4 minutes, 32.6 seconds. Ogle is a St. Albans native who ran track and soccer for Malone College in Canton, Ohio.

Leading the way in the 5K Walk were Mouse Yoker from Barton, the male winner in 28:21, and Wheeling's Brenda Colvin, who was timed in 34:08. Yoker was a repeat winner from last year.

Saturday's events drew a total of 1,056 participants. The 20K Run had 593 finishers, while 164 completed the 20K Walk. In the 5K events, there were 197 runners and 102 walkers.

Including Friday night's Tiny Tot Trot, the Ogden Fun Run and Ogden Mile, this year's race weekend drew more than 1,300 participants for the second year in a row.

Awards were presented in the 20K Run and Walk during the post-race banquet, which also was highlighted by the induction of the Class of 2005 into the Ogden Classic's Hall of Fame. Tribute also was paid to the Ogden Ironmen Club members. This is a group of 16 individuals who have finished all of the 29 Wheeling distance events.

Attending the festivities and competing in the 5K run once again were America's one-time King and Queen of the Roads, Bill Rodgers and Patty Catalano Dillon. Rodgers won the inaugural Wheeling race in 1977, while Dillon is a former two-time winner here. Both were inducted into the initial Hall of Fame Class in 2004.