The weather in Berryville, Virginia was about as nice as could be
hoped for on January 8th, and everyone participating in the Shenandoah
Valley Runners' Treasure Hunt 5K took full advantage. Over 70 runners
of all ages and abilities convened at Clarke County High School on a
brisk, but sunny, morning to take part in a race that had a few fun
twists added.
This day marked the 23rd anniversary for the Shenandoah Valley
Runners, with their first race being ran way back on January 8th,
1977. Also adding a little more fun to this race was the "treasure
hunt"; along the course runners would encounter index cards with a
number written on each. Racers were allowed to pick up one card, and
after the race, whoever held the highest number could pick first from
a table full of prizes.
Kickin' things off at Clarke County High School
The 3.1 mile course started directly across from Clarke County High
School and took racers on a meandering run through apple orchards and
on rolling gravel roads. Competitors back-tracked the final 1/2 mile
on their way to the finish line, which was in the high school parking
lot.
As runners crossed the finish line, they were handed a card with their
overall place printed on it, plus the survey question, "What one thing
in life do you treasure the most?". The number one answer was
"spouse/significant other", with "health" and "family" tied for
second.
Eric Chandler leads Dustin Sweeney to the finish
From the very start of the race, Eric Chandler(17:23) took the
lead, and maintained a steady pace up to the finish line as he
finished first overall. Clarke County High cross country runner
Dustin Sweeney(17:34) was able to keep Chandler honest, as he
finished just 11 seconds behind. Ryan Bayne(18:09) finished
third overall.
The fastest female racing this day was Robyn Ritter(20:48), but
she wasn't the only fast one. Ruth Riemenschneider(21:03)
battled Ritter hard the entire race, and finished a scant 15 seconds
back. Ritter and Riemenschneider finished 12th and 13th overall,
respectively.
WVOutside would like to thank Nancy Specht and the Shenandoah Valley Runners for
putting on such a fun race. Also, much appreciation goes out to their
web master, Karsten Brown, for taking care of the results so
quickly and for always proving to be a complete and constant source of
information.
