Count Wheeling's Ricky Moore among those looking forward to the time when the Ogden Newspapers 20K Classic will be able to return to its old course.

Construction along National Road forced the race committee to change the course for last year's race and this year's 30th annual event - set for May 27 - will have to follow the same path.

The changed course cuts off National Road in Elm Grove and heads up the Heritage Trail into East Wheeling, bypassing the National Road segment that included Chicken Neck Hill and Wheeling Hill.

"I can't really say I dislike the new course," said Moore, who is in Spokane, Wash. today preparing to battle more than 40,000 other runners in this morning's Lilac Bloomsday 12K, "but I definitely liked the old course better.

"That section through the Heritage Trail gets really monotonous without the fans."

Moore - who finished a strong second to Kenya's Julius Kibet in last year's Ogden Newspapers 20K Classic - said the missing part of the course was one of his favorite stretches.

"I always liked running down National Road," he said. "The people in Woodsdale and Fulton would come out on their front lawns to cheer on the runners. They had bands playing.

"It was a really neat part of the race but there's just no room for any of that on the trail."

Although he's been racing professionally for less than two years, Moore is already finding his name included among the elite racers in nearly every event he enters.

Nevertheless, he says the pros get as big a lift from the fans as the local recreational runners who make up the bulk of every major distance race.

"Runners definitely feed off the crowds," he said. "Especially in the longer races, where there tends to be more separation between the runners, having that fanfare and the crowds cheering you on helps keep you mentally focused and motivated. The fans are really important."

Moore, who is now racing under contract with Team Saucony, has competed in several high-profile events this year.

He turned in a solid 1:06:45 clocking on Jan. 15 in the Houston Half-Marathon and was 13th overall - fourth among Americans - at the Azalea Trail 10K in Mobile, Ala. on March 25.

Late last month, the former NCAA Division II All-American made a rare return to the track when he competed in the International 10,000 meters at the 112th annual Penn Relays in Philadelphia.

"I really didn't know what to expect there," said Moore. "I knew I was really fit but I hadn't raced on a track for a long time."

It turned out pretty well. Moore finished second in the event with a personal-best 29:41.96. Kenyan standout Linus Maiyo, who will be joining Moore and Kibet in today's Bloomsday field, won in a sizzling 28:08.87.

While most of Moore's professional races have been middle-distance events, he's pursuing a much longer long-term Olympic goal.

"I think I have above average footspeed," he said, "but above average doesn't cut it at the national and international level when you're running 5Ks and 10Ks. The longer the race and the tougher the course, the better for me.

"The main thing I've learned from getting out here and competing against the international runners is that I have what it takes to qualify for the Olympic marathon trials and make the team."

Moore plans to cut back on his racing schedule somewhat following the Ogden race as he and fiancee Bethany Strothers will be getting married this summer.

But he won't be out of action for long as the Olympic dream still beckons.

"I'm looking at running a marathon in October," he said. "I haven't really decided yet but I'll most likely run the Twin Cities Marathon in Minneapolis."

Don Clegg can be reached via e-mail at: Clegg@news-register.net