WHEELING — The Ogden Newspapers 20K Classic Run & Walk will return to its original course in 2008, race Director R. “Scat” Scatterday announced today.

“One of the benefits in doing this is to get the race back into the neighborhoods and get the crowds back in the race and get the city more connected to the runners than they could otherwise get on remote locations like the bike trail,” Scatterday said.

“People can now have their end-of-the-street parties and impromptu aid stations and hold up signs supporting the runners,” he added.

Returning the race course to its original location is just one of many changes already in the works for the 2008 event, which will step off the weekend of May 23-24.

The original course was last used in 2004, with Julius Kibet and Naomi Wangui taking the male and female 20K Open Division championships, respectively.

A new course, utilizing Wheeling’s Heritage Trail, was implemented in 2005 due to construction along U.S. 40.

The new course also was used in 2006 and 2007 due to the continued construction on National Road, as well as work on Wheeling Hill and the eastbound tube of the Wheeling Tunnel.

Scatterday said the recommendation to return to the original course came from the race route subcommittee of the Ogden 20K Classic Race Committee, after consulting with local safety department officials and the West Virginia Division of Highways.

“The torch relay actually showed evidence that (race) activities (along portions of the old course) still excite the hearts and minds of the city,” Scatterday said.

The original race course will host a new event next year — a 20K run relay involving two competitors running 10K each.

“There will be three categories — two males, two females and a male/female,” Scatterday pointed out.

Other changes next year involve the 20K and 5K walking events.

“Because it is a non-monitored, non-policed event, we will be moving large amounts of prize money from those events into the age categories,” Scatterday said.

Scatterday noted there are two types of walking events—monitored and unmonitored.

“Monitored walks have judges and cameras that monitor every linear foot of those races, verifying whether the walker violated the walking requirement or not,” he said. “We are not all interested in equipping our routes with the same type of monitor capability, if for no other reason than it would extremely expensive.”

Scatterday is interested, however, in maintaining the Ogden Classic’s commitment to walking events. He believes increasing prize money in age categories and “taking the professional attitude out of it” will accomplish this goal.

“We’re very interested in encouraging walking of all kinds,” he said, “but not interested in large awards for finishing the walk.”

With nearly a month having gone by since the 2007 race, Scatterday said he has been involved in follow-up discussions with runners, members of the race committee and members of the general public. Overall, reaction to this year’s Ogden 20K Classic Run & Walk was positive.

“The general consensus was that some of the changes that we made this year were welcomed and have the event headed in the right direction,” Scatterday said.

But there were some areas of concern — one being the inaccuracy of initial results from this year’s races.

“We are taking a zero-tolerance approach for mistakes in the assigning of race chips to race numbers,” Scatterday said. “Next year, we will have a two-fold cross-check system put in place so that the right runner/walker will have a number that without question coincides with their chip number.”

Other areas that will be evaluated include the finish line set up, the food line at the post-race luncheon at Wheeling’s Heritage Port, and the dispensing of plaques and financial awards for the winners.

Scatterday said the Tiny Tot Trot, conducted on Friday, also will see a change.

“We’re actually going to extend the Tiny Tot Trot a little more distance by beginning youngsters under the walkway of the WesBanco building,” he said.

He added that all aspects of the two-day event will be revisited.

“That will be done with the intent of redirecting all of these public interests and offering to everybody a meaningful, yet personal, opportunity to participate on every level,” Scatterday said.