Melvin Kahle has lived a rich and fulfilling life.

Evidence of this is displayed all over his office inside the law firm of Schrader, Byrd and Companion near Center Wheeling.

His shelves are decorated with photos of his family, his desk and table are adorned with mementoes of his life in public service, and his walls showcase snapshots of the many friends he’s made throughout the years.

Kahle has a special place on one wall for some of his road-racing awards.

At one time, competing in road races was a big part of his life. And, one of his favorite places to run was in his hometown of Wheeling at The Ogden Newspapers 20K Classic Run and Walk.

While he was never a big winner in the event, Kahle’s impact on the Memorial Day weekend tradition goes well beyond the victory stand.

So much so, that the 71-year-old is one of the newest members of the Ogden Newspapers 20K Classic Hall of Fame. He’ll be officially inducted during post-race festivities Saturday, May 26.

“It’s been a lot of fun,” he said. “I’ve worked in it almost every year.”

Kahle was there when the first 20K stepped off on the streets of downtown Wheeling in 1977. And at the time, Kahle was relatively new to the sport.

“I actually started running about six months before the first race,” Kahle remembered.

Then 39, Kahle was in relatively good health. But, he was concerned about feeling tired all the time. That led to a visit with his physician—Dr. Donald Hofreuter.

“He told me I needed to start running,” Kahle said.

So he did.

“I ran a mile or two after he suggested that, and I didn’t have any problems,” Kahle said. “I wasn’t trying to set a speed record or anything, but I didn’t have to stop.”

Soon, Kahle was running four miles at a time. And later, he started running with a group of men at the downtown YMCA, which was located in the building in which he currently has his office.

After striking up a friendship with Hugh Stobbs and Dr. Lee Jones, Kahle planned to compete in the first Wheeling road race, but an injury forced him to cancel his plans to run. He helped out with logistics on race day instead.

After his injury healed, Kahle again laced up his running shoes.

He started running and training with a group of fellow runners and friends that included Bill Hannig, Jack McClain, Herb Baker, D.J. Jebbia, Larry Jones, Stobbs and Rocky Paluch.

“We trained together,” Kahle recalled. “We trained for marathons, we ran races together. I started working out up at Wheeling Park High School and learning more about running.”

From there, Kahle started running harder and farther.

“A rough estimate on how much running I did during 14 years – I averaged 10 miles a day. Now, there were some days I didn’t run, some days I ran four miles and some days I ran 17 or 18 miles.”

As he became more engrossed in the sport, he and his racing friends started competing in out-of-town events in places like Charleston, Columbus and Boston. He qualified for the Boston Marathon in each of the six times he attempted, and he competed in the race four times.

But the Ogden Classic was special, because not only did he compete in it, he also worked behind the scenes. And many years, he did both.

“One time I was handing out registration packets at The (Wheeling) Civic Center, and the race started, and I forgot the time,” he said laughing. “I had to run to catch everyone because the race had already started.”

In addition to helping with registration in the event’s early years, Kahle also stationed himself at various points on the race course if he wasn’t able to run to help spot runners.

Kahle kept up a strong running regimen until about 1987 when an old knee injury resurfaced. He underwent a second knee surgery, and he was never able to tackle the Wheeling course with the same fervor.

“I was running my best when I had been running for about nine or 10 years,” Kahle said. “When I was approaching 50 I was running better then I ever had, which is hard to believe.”

Kahle became the first full-time Ohio County prosecutor in 1993. At this time, he started cutting back on racing, but still stayed involved in with events such as the Ogden Classic and Corporate Cup. He was able to earn a trophy in the latter event at age 60.

Through it all, Kahle has received the support of his wife, Carol, and six children.

“My family is just marvelous because they put up with me when I was always running,” Kahle said. “The kids had to wait for Christmas presents to be opened until after we got done with our Christmas-Day run. They were so good about it.”

In recent years, Kahle has served as an announcer at the Ogden Classic, along with Tom Fleming, and enjoys seeing many of his road-racing friends cross the finish line.

It’s a challenging job, one that requires trying to keep track of runners and walkers for 20K and 5K events.

“We pick up as many as we can,” Kahle said.

While he’s unable to compete in the course, Kahle is happy making an impact off it.

“It’s the nest best thing,” he said. “You’re doing something to participate and recognize people. You know how hard the course is and what they’ve put in to run it.

“When they say the original (Wheeling) course is, mile-for-mile, the toughest 20K course in the United States, I wouldn’t dispute that at all.”