As he finalized preparations for Saturday's 30th Ogden Newspapers 20K Classic late last week, race director Howard Corcoran took a few moments to look back at the first three decades of the prestigious event.

"The life of the average road race is about five years but we've been here for 30,'' said Corcoran, who has been involved with Wheeling's showcase event for 29 of those 30 years.

"The road racing world has gone through some major changes over the past 30 years but our race is still a draw to running and walking enthusiasts both here and abroad.

"The fact that we're still going strong after 30 years is a great tribute to the community and the people who laid such a solid foundation in those early years.

"The City of Wheeling means so much to us for all the work they do and the number of sponsors has actually grown.''

With one full week remaining before Saturday's race, Corcoran reported that entries are running ahead of last year's pace and noted that the return addresses illustrate the wide appeal of Wheeling's challenging 12.4 mile course.

Entries have already been received from 19 states, Canada, Kenya and Morocco.

The regional appeal is strong with 42 percent of the entries coming from West Virginia and 38 percent from Ohio but multiple entries have come from as far away as California, New Mexico, Florida, Kentucky and South Carolina.

Other distant states represented in Saturday's 20K field include Wyoming, Wisconsin, Oregon and Massachusetts.

As always, there is no shortage of national and international runners looking to carve off a big slice of a prize fund that has risen to nearly $30,000 for the 30th anniversary event.

Three of the top four male finishers in last year's race - including runnerup and Wheeling native Ricky Moore - announced earlier that they would be running again this year as did 2004 women's champion Naomi Wangui.

Chasing Moore across the finish line in third and fourth place, respectively, a year ago were Isaac Arusei of Kenya and Morocco's Mohammed Ar-Ar. Two other fast-rising young Kenyan runners, Kenneth Korir and Patrick Langat, were also among the early entries.
Another Kenyan, Ibrahim Limo of Albuquerque, N.M., tossed his hat into the ring last week.

Limo is coming off a win at the Valpo Mini-Marathon in Indiana - where he edged Langat by just one second - two weeks after finishing 15th in the Los Angeles Marathon.

Limo also has wins this year in the Mercedes Marathon in Birmingham, Ala. (2:29:32) and the Carlsbad Half Marathon in San Diego (1:06:32).

Lyubov Denisova may be tough to beat in the women's open division.

The 34-year-old Russian set a course and California state record (2:26:18) in winning her second sLos Angeles Marathon last year. She also has three top 5 finishes in the New York City Marathon and was second in the 2003 Boston Marathon.

Two familiar faces also return on the women's side.

Former WVU standout Heather Bury, who was fourth overall and the top American in the women's field at last year's Ogden 20K, will be back for another run.

Also returning is Susan Graham Gray of Greencastle, Pa.

Gray, who is legally blind, finished fifth here last year and won the women's division of the Ogden Grand Prix with a strong showing at the Parkersburg Half-Marathon.

Corcoran said he also received an unexpected blast from the past when Sam Ngatia, a Kenyan who ranked among the top elite runners in the race more than two decades ago, submitted his entry in the Masters Division.

"Sammy won the 1989 Columbus Marathon and was third here in 1984 when he ran 1:03 on the old course,'' said Corcoran. "It's great to see him making a comeback.''

Ngatia, who now runs out of Colorado Springs, Colo., is coming off recent Top 5 masters showings at the Lilac Bloomsday 12K (38:44) in Spokane, Wash. and the Fifth Third 25K (1:25:01) in Grand Rapids, Mich.

The return of the Masters Division (age 40-49) and the introduction of the Grand Masters Division (age 50-over) after a brief absence is likely permanent.

"It's here to stay,'' said Corcoran. "We probably shouldn't have taken it out in the first place.

"A lot of the people in that age group have been with us for 15, 20 even 30 years. They make up a large segment of our total entries and we wanted to reward them for their loyalty.''

Corcoran says there's still time for runners and walkers to enter any of the events on a jam-packed weekend.

"We'll be accepting entries all week,'' he said. "We'll also be set up to take entries from 5-8 p.m. at the Friday night events and we accept race day entries on Saturday right up until race time.''

Action gets under way Friday night with the Ogden Tiny Tot Trot, beginning at 6:45 p.m.; the Ogden Fun Run, beginning at 7 p.m.; and the Ogden Mile, set for a 7:15 p.m. start.

The 20K Walk gets things going on Saturday with a 7:30 a.m. start. The 20K Run gets under way at 8 a.m. with the 5K Run and Walk starting at 8:15 a.m.