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“We had a little rain last night,” said race committee Chairman Howard Corcoran, “but Saturday’s races look to be in great shape.
“Everything has been going pretty smooth. Entries are up again, and we usually pick up even more with walkups on the day of the race.
“The race committee and the city of Wheeling have been working very hard to get everything ready to go, and we’re all looking forward to a great event.”
The 30th anniversary weekend concludes today with overall and age group champions to be crowned in four events.
Action starts at 7:30 a.m. with the 20K Walk. Competitors in 20K Run will leave the start/finish line at 8 a.m., while the 5K Run and Walk For Your Health is set for an 8:15 a.m. start.
New male and female champions are assured in the featured 20K Run, and there’s no shortage of elite national and international challengers. Runners from 20 states, Kenya, Morocco, Russia and Canada will answer the starter’s gun.
Wheeling’s Ricky Moore, in his second full season as a pro and now running for Team Saucony, is the top returning runner on the men’s side after chasing Kenya’s Julius Kibet across the finish line a year ago.
Also back are Kenya’s Isaac Arusei and Morocco’s Mohammed Ar-Ar, who finished third and fourth, respectively, here last May.
Other international challengers include a pair of fast-rising young Kenyans in Kenneth Korir and Ibrahim Limo.
Limo especially bears watching. Now running out of Albuquerque, N.M., he’s bested international fields in three different races already this year.
A late entry could also thrust himself into the mix. Reuben Chebii, a 23-year-old Kenyan who trains with Kibet in West Chester, Pa., was nosed out by Kibet at the finish line in the Sallie Mae 10K in Washington, D.C., earlier this month.
In his final American race before returning home to Kenya, Kibet hit the tape in 28:51 with Chebii only a stride behind at 28:52.
The women’s 20K Run could be a two-horse race between a pair of thoroughbreds in 2004 Ogden winner Naomi Wangui of Kenya and Lyubov Denisova.
Denisova, a 34-year-old Russian, is a two-time winner of the L.A. Marathon and set the course record there last year.
Also in the women’s field is former WVU standout Heather Bury, fourth overall and the top American finisher in Wheeling a year ago, and Susan Graham Gray, a legally blind runner who was fifth here last year.
The return of the Masters and Grand Masters Divisions has brought back a familiar face.
Sam Ngatia, a Kenyan who was third here in 1983 and won the 1989 Columbus Marathon, has his second career as a Masters runner off to a flying start with recent top five Masters finishes in the Lilac Bloomsday 12K in Spokane, Wash., and the Fifth Third 25K in Grand Rapids, Mich.
Nick Bedway, retired executive sports editor of The Intelligencer and Wheeling News-Register, is the honorary starter for Saturday’s events.
Members of the Wheeling Park High School boys’ and girls’ track team will serve as the honor guard, and Ron DiLorenzo will play the national anthem on his trumpet.
Melvin Kahle and Ogden Newspapers 20K Classic Hall of Famer Tom Fleming will handle the public address announcing, keeping the crowd gathered at the start/finish line near WesBanco Arena up to date on the progress of the runners.
Total prize money for this year’s event has been boosted to more than $29,000. The male and female winners of the 20K Run will collect $2,000 each with $1,500 to the runnersup, $1,000 for third place, $500 for fourth place and $125 each for fifth through eighth place in each division.
Male and female winners in the Masters (age 40-49) and Grand Masters (50-59) divisions earn $350 each with $250 for second place and $150 for third. The same prize structure is in place for the top three male and female finishers in the 20K Walk.
The breakdown for the top three male and female finishers in the 5K Run and Walk is: First: $75; Second: $50; Third: $25. Cash prizes will also go to the top three male and female finishers in 12 age groups for the 20K Run, 20K Walk, 5K Run and 5K Walk.
The 20K Run and Walk awards will be presented at the annual post-race banquet inside WesBanco Arena. The 5K Run For Your Health Awards will be distributed on the steps of WesBanco Arena immediately following that event.
Fleming is master of ceremonies for the Awards Banquet with Renae Eikey of Wheeling Park High School to sing the national anthem.
A representative of the city of Wheeling and Randy Wharton of the Ohio County Commission will welcome the participants with the Rev. Michael Amico giving the invocation.
Greg Pohl, circulation manager for The Intelligencer and Wheeling News-Register, will give opening remarks, and Assistant Race Director Heidi Clark will present a special thank-you to the race’s major sponsors: Wheeling Island Racetrack and Gaming Resort, Ogden Newspapers, the city of Wheeling, the Ohio County Commission, United Bank, Mason Rehab Center and Wheeling Hospital.
Corcoran will introduce the Ogden Newspapers 20K Classic Hall of Fame’s Class of 2006, and Assistant Race Director Eric Anderson will introduce the 16 members of the Ogden Ironmen Club.
In addition to the 20K Run and Walk honors, special awards to be presented include the Chairman’s Award and presentations to the first West Virginia finisher and the first Wheeling finisher. The West Virginia and Wheeling awards are sponsored by Legg Mason Inc. |
Ogden Newspapers 20K Classic